Anglican Way Formerly Mandate, the magazine of the Prayer Book Society

Volume 37 Number 1 March 2014

In This Issue

Reflections from 2the Editor’s Desk ACNA’s New 4 Formularies Why English Theology and 5 Churchmanship Are Hopelessly Weak

An Exchange with John Warwick 6 Montgomery

Final Response by John Warwick 10 Montgomery

’28BCP: In Defense of the Book of 11 Common Prayer— The Early Days

Children, Confirmation and 13 Communion— A Response

Where Is the 1928 BCP the “Liturgical 15 Standard”?

Book Review of Worshipping Trinity 17 by Robin Parry 18 Time and Holiness Contemplating 19 Ambition in Lent 20 Lent Reflections FROM THEEditor’s Desk Roberta Bayer, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Patrick Henry College, Purcellville, Virginia

Neither ought other men’s abuse of Lent the church, but the scandal that we bring upon the Spoil the good use; lest by that argument church ourselves. We forfeit all our Creed. If he could find reason to upbraid himself for Lent, George Herbert bitterness, a man who was just and righteous from We need your all accounts, then so should we. There are ordinary Anglicans who might consider all the fighting about hurch seasons and worldly seasons are not at gifts in order to doctrine and morals that fill the news and the pews one. The ordinary pace of life does not allow as just something to be ignored, while others might carry out your one to keep the fast of Lent—the spring festi- consider it a reason to leave, to forfeit the creed. There mandate to Cvals, the renewal of the sports season, my son’s Spring is good reason not to focus on scandal but simply to Prom—none seem appropriate to the season of Lent. defend the 1928 teach the faith on a day to day basis, even if one can- My frustration with this pace of life, a pace of life not counter all the publicity about what should not be Book of which Christians themselves don’t question, is that happening in the Church. Common it gets in the way of the prayer and contemplation John Warwick Montgomery’s comments printed that I desire just for this one church season. Cannot Prayer. in this issue, on the weakness of English theology and everything just stop? Why must there be such busy- churchmanship, are unfortunately too typical. John is You may send ness in Lent? a vigorous defender of orthodoxy, a well-known pub- a contribution But in the same poem, George Herbert upbraids lic apologist for the Christian faith and a Lutheran me for this frustration: in the enclosed theologian. Living in Europe and in North America, envelope. The humble soul compos’d of love and fear he has witnessed much of the foolishness that has Begins at home, and layes the burden there come to characterize the public face of Anglicanism. Please give When doctrines disagree. His criticisms ring true. But the difficulty is that pub- generously. He sayes, in things which use hath justly got lic perceptions of a Church skew the reality. I am a scandall to the Church, and not John is an esteemed colleague of mine at Patrick Please read our two The Church is so to me Henry College and wrote his article on the sad state of the Church of England for an upcoming issue of websites: pbsusa.org Anglicans have been obsessed in the last few decades his Global Journal of Classic Theology, an online jour- and anglicanway with the scandals of the church—the internet is filled nal of Evangelical Theology (found at http://phc.edu/ magazine.com with the evidence. In the early 17th century, when the gj_journalindex.php). Viewing Dr. Montgomery’s Contact Dr. Bayer at Church was not quite as scandalous in its statements comments in advance, I asked his permission to print editor.mandate@ and behavior as today, the devotional poet George them. I asked our President Gavin Dunbar and two gmail.com or from Herbert yet observed that in Lent our consuming other members of the Prayer Book Society board, Dr. the PBS website. attention should be not with the scandal of others in Gillis Harp, and Canon Alistair Macdonald-Radcliff,

Anglican Way Volume 37, Number 1, March 2014 Editor: Dr. Roberta Bayer • Assistant Editor: Sydney Nichole Thomas • Design/Layout: Electronic Quill The Officers for the Year 2013 are: President: The Rev. Gavin Dunbar • Vice President: The Rev. Fr. Edward Rix Treasurer: Kathleen Stephans of Philadelphia • Secretary: Mrs. Rhea Bright of Oklahoma Executive Director: The Rev. Jason Patterson Anglican Way is published four times a year by the Prayer Book Society, a non-profit organization serving the Church of God. All gifts to the P.B.S. are tax deductible for U.S. citizens. Editorial and all other correspondence: P.O. Box 137, Jenkintown, PA 19046-0137. Phone 1-800-PBS-1928. Cover: A parish church, Postmaster: Please send address changes to the above address. church of England Visit the websites of the Society: www.pbsusa.org & www.anglicanmarketplace.com. ©iStockphoto.com/cnstock

2 THE MAGAZINE OF THE PRAYER BOOK SOCIETY to comment. This exchange makes for a lively debate about the merits of Anglican Theology and the Ref- ormation formularies (and the English character). The defense presented on these pages shows that News from the public scandal is not all there is to see. Finally, to Dr. Montgomery’s final remarks about Sola Scriptura in Anglican Way Anglicanism, a future article must be devoted. None- theless, it is also salutary to remember during Lent THE SECOND ANNUAL PETER TOON and Passion Week of that which Herbert reminds MEMORIAL LECTURE us—the greatest scandal really lies within—the daily sins and the original sin of Adam, for which Christ The Second Annual Peter Toon Memorial Lecture, died on the Cross to redeem us. hosted by the Church Society, will be given by the In Anglican Way, Vol. 36, No. 2, Summer 2013, the Rev. Dr. Ashley Null, Fellow of the Royal Histori- President of the PBS, the Rev. Gavin Dunbar wrote cal Society in London, and Canon Theologian of an article on the question of whether or not children Western Kansas. Dr. Null will speak on “The Divine should receive communion before being confirmed, Allurement: Cranmer’s Comfortable Words”. The lec- entitled “Children, Confirmation, and Communion.” ture will be held on Friday, June 13, 2014 at Oak Hill In a subsequent issue, the Rev. Jonathan Mitchican, Theological College. Evening prayer is at 4pm, fol- who blogs at conciliaranglican.com, responded some- lowed by refreshments and the Lecture. what critically to Fr. Dunbar’s remarks. He wondered The Rev. Dr. Ashley Null is the author of numer- whether or not the practice of Confirmation, as found ous scholarly articles and the influential study of in the Anglican Reformation, is consistent with Scrip- Cranmer’s grace and gratitude theology, Thomas tural teaching and Patristic theology. In this issue, Fr. Cranmer’s Doctrine of Repentance: Renewing the Dunbar responds to Fr. Mitchican, pointing to some Power of Love (Oxford, 2000). He is currently based of the sources for the Anglican Reformers’ views on at Humboldt University of Berlin and Cambridge confirmation. Also on the next page, Fr. Dunbar com- University, UK, where he is preparing a critical edi- ments briefly upon the new ACNA formularies. tion of Thomas Cranmer’s private theological notes. William Murchison, well-known syndicated col- umnist and long-time friend of the Prayer Book Soci- w ety, has recently joined our board. He has contributed a lively article, in his inimitable style. It is the first part of The Georgia Anglican/Episcopal Men’s Conference a two-part article on the early days of the Prayer Book announces its upcoming meeting for 2014. “Man to Society. Fittingly another article in this issue, contrib- Man: Sharing the Christian Faith in a Pluralistic Soci- uted by the Rev. Frederick Erb III, priest of the Episco- ety” will be held September 12–14, 2014, at St. Luke’s pal Missionary Church, considers the extent to which Church, 7 Ewing Street (P.O. Box 1821), Blue Ridge, the historic Books of Common Prayer continue to be George. used in the continuum and beyond, despite their having Speakers will include the Rev. Canon Dr. John been replaced in 1979 within the Episcopal Church, by Macdonald, Associate Professor of Mission and the “Green Book.” An interesting book by an English Evangelism at Trinity School for Ministry, Ambridge, evangelical theologian who is re-discovering the mer- Pennsylvania and Ted Sprague, founder of Witness its of Trinitarian worship, is reviewed here by the Rev. Breakthrough, an organization seeking to equip Jim Basinger, rector of Our Saviour Oatlands. Not all Christians to learn to share their faith more effectively. signs of the times are entirely bad. Finally we have an Inquiries can be made at St. Luke’s Church article about the importance of the 1928 Ordo Calen- (706) 632-8245. dar, and the importance of daily worship according to that calendar, by Allison Steinberg, the administrative Who may attend? Anglican/Episcopal laymen Dean of St. Andrew’s Academy and Fr. John Boonzaai- from throughout the state of Georgia and surround- jer, rector of the Chapel of the Cross and Headmas- ing states are welcomed. Clergy are also invited. ter of St. Timothy’s School, Dallas, Texas. Whithorn What is the cost? The registration fee is $65 if Press produces a beautiful Ordo Calendar based upon booked by August 15, $70 thereafter. The fee includes the 1928 BCP. See: http://whithornpress.standrews a wine and cheese reception on Friday night and a almanor.org/sample-page/ bagged lunch and supper on Saturday.

w The Board of the Prayer Book Society would like to offer thanks to all those individuals and churches which have sent in donations over the past year. We could not continue our work without you, nor publish this magazine. Thank you for helping us continue to teach the faith in the Anglican way.

Anglican Way 3 FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE PRAYER BOOK SOCIETY The Reverend G. G. Dunbar, Rector, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Savannah, Georgia ACNA’s New Formularies

ne of the most impressive aspects of the only return to the historic tradition, but also make Anglican Church of North America has significant advances upon the form of those texts as been its recognition that the “formularies” received in the most recent American Prayer Book Oof the Episcopal Church in the late 20th century of 1928. Thankfully, the Prayer of Consecration The Rev. Gavin G. Dunbar, President, would not provide a sure foundation for the insti- abandons the Byzantinizing eccentricities of the Prayer Book Society, tutional realignment and spiritual revitalization of Scottish church, imposed in 1789 as a condition of and Rector, St John’s Anglicanism in North America. The last several Seabury’s consecration as bishop: the Invocation of Episcopal Church, months have seen the publication of alternatives Word and Spirit is restored to its original and logi- Savannah, Georgia to the liturgy and catechism printed in the 1979 cal place, just before the institution narrative. The Prayer Book—a book which for many former Epis- Prayer for the Church replaces the odd American copalians now in ACNA has been the only liturgy commemoration of the departed with one more in and catechism which they have known and used (at line with historic formulations, and adds petitions least for many years). The recognition that ACNA for mission in appropriate places (a development Anglicans require alternatives to 1979 is itself a very anticipated in the 1962 Canadian Prayer book). If important development: it is the contemporary for- I have one complaint about the new Prayers for the mularies that need revision, not the historic ones. Church and of Consecration, it is that it is not avail- And it is against the weakness of the formularies able in “traditional” English! they replace, rather than against the strength of the There remains, however, the problem of the historic formularies they respect, that they should Peace. For pastoral reasons, of course, some provi- be measured. sion has to be made for the group dynamics asso- The catechism is a noble endeavor; and has ciated with the “exchange of the sign of peace,” attached to it the name of the eminent J. I. Packer; especially by charismatic Anglicans who constitute but it looks like the compilation of many different such an important element in ACNA. A merely contributors, and lacks the theological incisiveness theological declaration of the peace, such as Cran- and rhetorical cohesiveness of his own writing. The mer provided in the blessing, will not satisfy their results, as one might expect of so many authors, are hunger for immediate experience! But must it be uneven: and in places, such as the questions on the placed in the most disruptive and least logical loca- atonement, it is disappointingly vague. Credit is due tion of all, just after the Confession and Absolu- for trying; but the writing of catechisms is harder tion? Reconciliation with neighbors is required of than it looks. This is a good start, but needs further those who come to the sacrament, and it may take work. Clearly, an enormous amount of work has gone some time and effort—it is not something that can into a demanding project, and there is much here to be effectually accomplished in a group hug shortly commend. Yet overall, this has the feel of an initial before the Sursum corda! draft—which I believe it is—rather than a finished There are three reasonable alternatives: at the work. ACNA Anglicans might do well to study the beginning of the service; or at the end of the service; Heidelberg Catechism, much used by Anglicans in or immediately after the Prayer for the church (with the 16th and 17th centuries. It is a model of concise its petition for the peace and unity of the church), Mission Statement elegance in its formulations, and displays a concrete- and just before the Invitation to confess and receive The Society is ness and clarity of true conviction. the Sacrament, made to those believers “in love and With the revision of the liturgies of the Eucha- charity with their neighbors.” dedicated to the rist, however, there is much more to applaud—per- Naturally, if the Peace is moved, so should also the preservation, haps because Anglicans have had more experience Offertory, and its historic place just before the Prayer understanding, and in liturgy than in catechesis. Albeit rendered in for the Church makes a lot of sense, where the offer- propagation of the contemporary language (whose limitations I will ing of intercessions may be united with the offering Anglican Doctrine pass over) they represent a significant recovery of of alms and oblations, and the presentation of the as contained in the the classical texts, with some of the usual non-con- elements. Perhaps the next revision the able revisers troversial trimmings (additional greetings, proper of the ACNA liturgy will make this momentous step, traditional editions prefaces, Benedictus qui venit, Agnus dei). Even and provide an order of worship in which classical of The Book of better, in some places—notably the Prayer for the Anglicans old and new can find a measure of liturgi- Common Prayer. Church and the Prayer of Consecration—they not cal common ground.

4 THE MAGAZINE OF THE PRAYER BOOK SOCIETY Why English Theology and Churchmanship Are Hopelessly Weak

John Warwick Montgomery Church even though in a Look magazine article he had informed the general public that he had “jetti- et me be perfectly clear at the outset: I have soned” the Incarnation, the Virgin Birth, and the nothing against the grand tradition of Angli- Trinity, and who had famously declared, “I can sing can worship. Indeed, whilst holding a profes- the Creed but not say it.” And thus also Bishop John Lsorship in an English university and practicing at the A. T. Robinson in England and Bishop John Shelby English bar, my wife and I (in the absence of satis- Spong in the U. S. A. factory Lutheran church services) generally attended Fully consistent with this approach is the remark Morning Prayer at one of the churches maintained by of Prince Charles that though, on becoming King, the barristers’ Inns of Court in London: the Temple he would be uncomfortable being “Defender of Church or Lincoln’s Inn Chapel. the Faith,” he would not mind being “Defender of John Warwick But such solid, classical liturgy and biblical preach- [undefined] faith.” And it is not hard to see why the Montgomery ing were hard to find elsewhere. The general Anglican American Episcopal Church, in the course of less Church scene staggered between two extremes: flabby, than a hundred years, could reach the point—over broad-church liberalism and flabby, low-church cha- against clear and consistent biblical teaching—of risma. The result of such national churchmanship has ordaining practicing homosexual and lesbian clergy been no less than catastrophic. A generation ago, most and bishops. high court judges (Denning, Diplock, MacKay) were The “comprehension” explanation is quite correct, serious, believing Christians, as were the most influ- but it is not the whole story. There is a sociological ential of British politicians (Mrs. Thatcher). Later, factor to be taken into account—an interesting aspect Prime Minister Tony Blair (I knew him personally) to the English character. We noticed right away on could not find any problem with the Qur’an and con- moving to England how difficult it is for many Eng- verted to Roman Catholicism, and his current succes- lish people to make a positive, unqualified statement sor at 10 Downing Street pushes for the recognition on any subject. Assertions often end with “. . . isn’t of same-sex unions. English high court judges now it?”—the speaker apparently wanting confirmation declare that Christian belief is irrelevant to a believer’s from the hearer that what he or she has just said is, conscience-based refusal to provide sex counseling to after all, really so. Politics and religion make many homosexual couples. English uncomfortable even in polite discussion— The standard historical explanation for this sad the weather is always a more palatable topic—and state of affairs is the Elizabethan Settlement, when there are social clubs where religious and political Elizabeth I made a policy of theological “comprehen- discussions are prohibited by the by-laws. sion,” i.e., allowing Anglican clergy of low, high, and This has resulted in flaccid theological teach- broad persuasions to coexist within the same eccle- ing and writing, even among English evangelicals. siastical body—thereby making the state church as Indeed, even the most conservative of them (F. F. comfortable as possible for all citizens. Subscription Bruce, John Stott, Alistair McGrath) have not held to the very fine (and in many respects Lutheran) to biblical inerrancy—such an “absolute” position Thirty-Nine Articles became, especially as biblical presumably being incompatible with the English criticism appeared on the scene in the late 18th cen- via media. It is generally agreed that C. S. Lewis (a tury, quatenus (“insofar as” the subscriber held that Northern Irishman) never received a professor- they represented revelatory truth), not necessarily ship at Oxford owing to the discomfort engendered quia (simply because they accorded with Holy Scrip- among his colleagues by his uncompromising, ortho- ture). An important marker of Anglican inability to dox Christian apologetic. There is the famous Punch discipline deviant views was the Bishop Colenso con- cartoon of the two English horsemen meeting each troversy; of his views Charles Darwin wrote in a let- other in the middle of a bridge too narrow for both to ter of 6 November 1862 to an American zoologist: “A pass at the same time; they have turned to skeletons book has appeared here which will, I suppose, make whilst repeating “After you!” a noise, by Bishop Colenso, who judging from the A recent illustration of the problem has surfaced extracts, smashes most of the Old Testament.” in the writings of a former professor of medical law And thus we have the late Bishop James Pike (I turned popular novelist, Alexander McCall Smith. debated him at McMaster University in Canada) who Smith, who grew up in Zimbabwe, has created a won- was never disciplined by the American Episcopal derful series of books, “The No. 1 Ladies Detective

Anglican Way 5 Agency,” whose leading character—Botswana’s its effect is to give a sense of moral purpose and thus only female private detective—displays touching enable us to lead lives that have moral shape, then humanity in her relationships with others. Precious one might be justified in asking what is wrong with Ramotswe is a Christian believer, a member of the that.” Smith continues: Anglican Church, a regular attender at the Anglican Not everybody is going to end up, as Auden Cathedral, and a friend of the Bishop. But her theo- did, in the Anglican Church or indeed in any logical views are not dictated by a thoroughgoing church. The spiritual life can be cultivated in all commitment to the biblical text. Thus, she finds cer- sorts of ways: through music, through poetry, tain biblical miracles impossible to believe, contra- through the cherishing of others or, more dicting, as they do, her ordinary experience. broadly, the appreciation and understanding In Tea Time for the Traditionally Built, Mma of nature. . . . Nor, I think, is it necessary to Ramotswe muses: “People believed in all manner of believe in a personal god of the sort that we things, in the face of all the evidence, but if they did find in Christian doctrine. Religions are full not, well, what then? . . . We had to believe in some- of myths and things that defy belief. . . . We thing, she thought.” And in a later novel in the series, can see them for what they are—expressions of The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon, the question is value. . . . We can act, then, as if they were true, raised as to whether one should reveal to a young although we know they are not, embracing the man that he was born of an incestuous union. Mma purpose and dignity they give to our lives, the Ramotswe’s colleague, Mma Makutsi remarks: “That example they set. boy not knowing the truth . . . not knowing who he really is.” Mma Ramotswe replies, arguing that the And there we have it: doctrine and truth are not really boy should not be told about his real origins: “We all that important. “We need a story about ourselves, need a story about ourselves, but does it really matter but does it really matter whether it is the true one whether it is the true one or it has been made up?” or it has been made up?” There could be no better This very Anglican approach is made even more description of why the Anglican Church is presiding specific in Smith’s non-fiction book, What W. H. over the death of a formerly Christian nation. Auden Can Do for You—a book, by the way, that tells you far more about Smith than about Auden. (Auden, though Anglican, stayed far more within the classical John Warwick Montgomery holds a Ph.D. (U. Chicago), Christian theological tradition.) Significantly, Smith D.Théol. (U. Strasbourg,France), LL.D. (Cardiff U., gives no clue as to Auden’s dissatisfaction with his Wales), Dr. [h.c.] (Institute for Religion and Law, homosexual temperament and his conviction that Moscow); Professor Emeritus of Law and Humanities, such practices, even when he himself succumbed to University of Bedfordshire (U.K.); Distinguished them, were wrong. Research Professor of Philosophy, Concordia In the final chapter of the book, Smith speaks of University, Wisconsin (U.S.A.); Distinguished solutions for the “empty core at the heart of our exis- Professor of Philosophy and Christian Thought, tence,” so trenchantly described by Auden in The Age Patrick Henry College, Virginia (U.S.A.); Director, of Anxiety. One solution presented—that of Auden— International Academy of Apologetics, Evangelism is “religious belief.” But here, according to Smith, the and Human Rights (Strasbourg, France); Barrister- issue is not the truth of that belief or the possibility at-Law (England and Wales); Avocat à la Cour of showing it to be a correct take on the universe. (Paris); Member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of “Many people take that view, electing to believe in the United States; Honorary Chairman, Academic something that may wither under close scrutiny but Board, International Institute for Religious Freedom, that nonetheless represents an engaged response to World Evangelical Fellowship; Websites: www.jwm. evil and emptiness. And why should they not do this? christendom.co.uk, www.apologeticsacademy.eu, . . . That may amount to whistling in the dark, but if www.newreformationpress.com.

Reply by Gavin G. Dunbar President, Prayer Book Society of the USA

any years ago I went to see a pretentious was not impressed: “breaking butterflies upon the and silly science fiction film with the rec- wheel” was his response to me. I was reminded of tor of the parish of which I was an assis- it as I read Dr. Montgomery’s piece on the doctrinal tant,M as well as other parishioners. I was annoyed with vacuity of the Church of England and the Episcopal the film and spent some time afterward denouncing Church of the USA: in general, he complains, the the movie to the members of our party. The rector Anglican Church “[staggers] between two extremes:

6 THE MAGAZINE OF THE PRAYER BOOK SOCIETY flabby, broad-church liberalism and flabby, low- he tacitly acknowledges by his allusion to the subse- church charisma.” quent relaxation of the terms of subscription to the What Dr. Montgomery says is deplorably true, Articles of Religion. and utterly obvious: “but who breaks butterflies upon Before denouncing the obvious weakness of early the wheel?” He is amusing when he touches on the 21st century Anglicanism, Dr. Montgomery might pathological politeness of the English, as a contribut- have reflected rather more on the “grand tradition ing factor to “flaccid theological teaching and writ- of Anglican worship” he admires, its “solid, classical ing”—though such politeness, for all its limitations, liturgy”, which when rightly combined with “bibli- can be a welcome relief from the opposite extreme, cal preaching”, indicates that there is a lot more to of odium theologicum. Less amusingly he somewhat historic Anglicanism than its present decay. Indeed, cautiously cites the Elizabethan Settlement, and its instead of “dissing” the Anglican tradition, a redis- policy of theological comprehension, as “the standard covery of the historic Anglicanism of the Elizabeth historical explanation for this sad state of affairs”— settlement might be an enormous step forward in though the comprehension aimed at by classical reforming and revitalizing what was once one of the Anglicanism was hardly indifferent to doctrine, as premier strands of Reformation Christianity.

Reply by Gillis J. Harp Professor of History, Grove City College

espite the title, it is soon clear that the ‘inclusiveness’ celebrated by theological liberals in author’s target here is Anglicanism per se, recent decades. Explicit clerical subscription to the rather than “English theology” (whatever 39 Articles was required from the outset (though thatD is). His first mistake is to assume that the Eliza- its exact wording was weakened later—clerical bethan Settlement constituted some sort of vague, subscription was never required in the American anemic compromise. As the historical scholarship of Church and that was certainly a serious blunder). the English Reformation of the past thirty years has Obviously, theological liberalism and the break- clarified, it was nothing of the kind. Here, one has down of ecclesiastical discipline have ravaged the to overcome two distorted partisan portraits of the worldwide Anglican Communion since the 1960s. Settlement that once gained wide acceptance. That wouldn’t strike any observant commenta- First, there was the fantasy promulgated by some tor as a surprising revelation. But in this respect, leaders of the Oxford Movement (and their later Anglicanism isn’t very different from most mainline Anglo-Catholic followers) that Queen Elizabeth I Protestant bodies or from Christianity in the West sought to establish the Church of England as a half- in general. Has Lutheranism escaped this trend way house between Rome and Geneva—the via media somehow? Anyone who is familiar with the recent model that John Henry Newman developed, but then history of the ELCA knows the answer to that ques- later realized was largely an historical fiction. Though tion. While the weak leadership of the Church of Elizabeth I was certainly an irenic soul committed to England bears some responsibility for the secular- protecting a truly national church and not wanting to ization of British culture in the twentieth century, needlessly alienate traditionalists, her commitment I’m not sure it would be fair to drop that entire load and the deep commitment of her episcopal bench on their shoulders. As for generalizations about was to the Church of England as reformed under her English ‘national character,’ I have always found late half-brother Edward VI. Unfortunately, Anglo- those to be dangerous with little grounding in Catholics, having a strong presence in the universi- empirical evidence. ties, mostly wrote the early histories of Anglicanism Finally, while I agree that it is essential to defend and this fanciful portrait has been widely accepted. the historicity and reliability of the biblical texts, I Happily, in the last generation, secular historians of am not convinced that the particular version of iner- the Reformation (without a dog in the partisan fight) rancy as defined by the Princeton Theology in the late have corrected this caricature. Though they differed nineteenth century is the only way to do that. Accord- over questions of liturgy and church polity, regard- ingly, I don’t view the reluctance of Stott and McGrath ing the central doctrines of justification and of the to employ that particular American terminology as a sacraments, the English Church did not see itself as sign of weakness regarding the divine inspiration and outside the circle of the Magisterial Reformers on the supreme authority of scripture. Continent, Lutheran or Reformed. In any event, it is always salutary to be challenged Second, the sort of inclusivity that Elizabeth from another Christian tradition and I appreciate the and her bishops envisaged was not anything like the opportunity to engage in this discussion.

Anglican Way 7 Reply by The Rev. Canon Alistair Macdonald-Radcliff Senior Advisor to KAICIID

The Decline of the English Church: Or Narrative versus Argument in Contemporary Ethnomethodological Sociotheology

t was a true pleasure to read Dr. Montgom- ‘. . . the term “inerrancy” does not correspond ery’s asseverations upon the state of the English to any vocable of the Sacred Scriptures. It does church, amusing as they are. And insofar as brev- not correspond to any vocable in the Lutheran Iity is the soul of wit then the argument in his piece symbols. The Catholic Church has never truly does partake of the sel attique. For amidst the defined it dogmatically. None of the formula- many engaging illustrations and reminiscences of tions of the ancient “rule of faith” or “canon of his former intimates, such as Mr. Tony Blair, there truth” affirm it. It is not the tenet of the patristic is actually an argument as well. This is worth set- consensus. It is an ecclesiastical term subject to ting out in full and runs as follows: “solid, classical definition by usage.” (‘What does, “Inerrancy” liturgy and biblical preaching” have become “hard to mean?’, Concordia Theological Monthly 36:8, find” whereas, “The general Anglican Church scene” September 1965, pp. 577–593.) “staggers” between “flabby, broad-church liberalism and flabby, low-church charisma” with a result that is It would be sad indeed if Lutheranism was itself ulti- “catastrophic.” The “standard historical explanation mately to prove more of a glass house than a fortress. for this” namely “the Elizabethan Settlement, of theo- Indeed, these days, for a truly literal belief in textual logical comprehension. . . . is not the whole story” inerrancy albeit regarding a different text, Dr. Mont- however, for explanatory completeness, his argument gomery might have to consider the case of Islam. concludes, you must blame “the English character.” But as it turns out, no point of theology is in fact Readers of these pages will surely warm to Dr. the crux upon which Dr. Montgomery’s argument Montgomery as a man committed to the fight against rests, since the malaise of the English church is not flabbiness in high, low and most especially broad in his view a matter of ratiocination at all. It is not theological places. He is surely right in feeling that the even for him mainly an outcome of the Elizabethan moist warmth to be found amidst the rolls and folds Settlement, but rather a sad product of the “national of the theologically “flaccid” must attest a torpid want character” itself. But just what is the evidentiary value of vigour at the least, and very likely a reservoir ripe of national character? The concept is a curious one to fester with the contagion of error in times ahead (if given that, however popular, it often proves elusive I may employ a set of imagery in the colourful vein in the particular. of Luther’s own). I do though find it consoling, as a Europeans (if there is any one such group) seem member from my student days of the Inner Temple tempted at times, for example, to imagine that all in London, that the preaching of my esteemed friend Americans are brash and prone to sweeping generali- the Master of the Temple, Dr. Robin Griffith Jones, sations rather than detailed or cumulative, let alone afforded Dr. Montgomery at least a modicum (rather apodictic, argument. This has led to shocking conde- than a mere quantum) of solace during his time away scension, such as that of Oscar Wilde in saying that from the mighty fortress of his Lutheran church. “America is the only country that went from barba- Though one has to wonder if that Church is itself rism to decadence without civilization in between.” entirely free of flabbiness. I note that Dr. Montgomery In sympathetic horror, we may recoil and say next stresses, as a special symptom of malaise, that among that there is no such thing as “national character” Evangelical Anglicans, “even the most conservative of at all. But then consider the following: “Imagine an them (F. F. Bruce, John Stott, Alistair McGrath) have Australian man who is shy, riven with self-doubt, not held to biblical inerrancy” as though this were and rather effete. Imagine a Japanese woman who is a matter of entire agreement for Lutherans them- impolite, boorish, and physically messy. Imagine an selves. Yet, as long ago as 1965, the noted Lutheran Irishman who is inarticulate, emotionally frigid, and theologian Arthur Carl Piepkorn, undermined the teetotal.” (Noel Malcolm, Daily Telegraph of London, use of this specific word as a litmus test for ortho- 24th December, 2006). So perhaps there is something doxy among Lutherans, (putting aside the matter of to it after all? whether it ever had the same weight for Anglicans) As it happens, no less an Anglican than T.S. when he observed crisply that, Eliot is on hand to assist the Montgomery claim. In

8 THE MAGAZINE OF THE PRAYER BOOK SOCIETY searching for the English character, he referenced, Tuck to Obadiah Slope, Archdeacon Grantly and “Derby day, Henley regatta, Cowes, the 12th of Mrs. Proudy? August, a cup final, the dog races, the pin table, the Perhaps those fictional characters give us a clue. dart board, Wensleydale cheese, boiled cabbage cut Perhaps the via Anglicana is much like Dr. Mont- in sections, beetroot in vinegar, 19th-century gothic gomery’s post- modern style of persuasion itself, for- churches, the music of Elgar” (in his Notes Towards saking strict argument for narrative. Certainly, it is the Definition of Culture). While the skeptical George plausible to say, as a matter of history that at its heart Orwell claimed: “It is somehow bound up with solid the way of the English Church is not really about one breakfasts and gloomy Sundays, smoky towns and monolithic argument. Instead, it is to a significant winding roads, green fields and red pillar-boxes” (in degree a thing of impressions, allusions, byways and The Lion and the Unicorn). narrative around and about its formularies and tradi- But how does all this relate to the heritage of the tion, that nonetheless yields a complex whole. English Church from the times of Restitutus and Then again, as Pope Gregory, who sent St. Augus- Cuthbert, Pelagius, Augustine and Bede through to tine to Britain observed of the English, we are (to play Coverdale, Wycliffe, Latimer, Ridley and Cranmer, slightly further upon his words) not so much about not to mention Parker, Hooker and Andrews, Laud straight lines and angles as “Angels” instead. Surely and Taylor, Butler and Arnold? Or even the figures this is something for the foreigner to envy after all, of literature from Chaucer’s Nun Prioress or Friar is it not?

Reply by Roberta L. Bayer Editor, Anglican Way

G. K. Chesteron, in his ironical way, made this with dissent and theological disagreement, and weak- remark about the idealist who thinks that something ened by its failure to witness to the world? Further- is disproved by defeat: more, should the failure of Christianity as a whole The task of modern idealists indeed is made imply that one should give up on being Christian? much too easy for them by the fact that they are To that I would reply that the world was not exactly a always taught that if a thing has been defeated home for Christ, indeed, he was crucified unjustly in it has been disproved. Logically, the case is it. God created a world that is not just in itself, and he quite clearly the other way. The lost causes created people who fell into sin. are exactly those which might have saved the How do we direct our lives in this world in such world. a way that we might attain the life everlasting? This is the purpose of the life of worship and prayer and I see his point, and as such I would say that I am work to which we are directed by the Anglican for- not an idealist. There was never a time when every mularies—they, I maintain, direct us to that end. The Christian, much less every Anglican, believed and formularies teach the Gospel, they teach men and assented or even held a complete understanding of women how to prepare themselves for God’s judg- what is set down in the formularies of their church ment. In eternity we shall love and contemplate God or in Holy Writ! Nor have bishops and clergy been in his divine goodness and mercy, but in this world faithful, otherwise there would have been no need for the Christian life is made difficult by the fact that we Athanasius contra mundum. The Book of Common are not perfect in the manner that we hope to be in Prayer instructs us to pray daily for the church and its the next life. We have “left undone those things which clergy and bishops because they are so very likely not we ought to have done, and we have done those to uphold the formularies set out at the Elizabethan things which we ought not to have done, and there is Settlement. Yet despite this, I do not think that it is no health in us.” Saying those words in truth cannot the formularies that are at fault, nor do I think they be enforced from the outside, but only through the are too weak to teach the faith today. self-discipline of the individual in attending to God. Chesterton continued: The Christian ideal has The extent of piety within the Church depends not been tried and found wanting. It has been found upon the intellectual rigor and moral discipline of difficult; and not tried. The message is: don’t expect the individuals within. It is certainly intellectual rigor perfection from an imperfect world. To do so is to which is lacking, if one points to someone like Bishop misread the world itself. Granted, the Anglican James Pike who denied the Trinity, and moral clarity, Church in the West is weakened because of some of if one points to someone like the early W. H. Auden. its churchmen; yet does one not say that it shares this However, it was the Book of Common Prayer that with all Christianity, which is and ever has been filled drew Auden back to the faith. It would seem that this

Anglican Way 9 has been the case for many people because it directs deny those teachings? Complex is the human mind us to place our faith in the Church Universal, the with its capacity for self-love and self-deception. Or bride of Christ, despite what we may see around us. to put it another way, there is no son of Adam with- What this observation prompts me to ask, is not out sin, and sin takes two forms—one intemperance why the Anglican Church, or any church, seems so and moral weakness, and the other intellectual sin, incapable of maintaining order, but rather why some- which is to prefer ones’ own judgment to what God one would join a voluntary social organization such has taught through Christ and the prophets. I am not as a particular denomination of Christianity, which sure what one can do about that; it seems to be the defines itself by certain teachings and creeds, and yet sine qua non of the human condition.

Final Response by John Warwick Montgomery

hese responses are very well done and do not to handle those situations in which A, B, and C require a replication on my part. Thank the do not say precisely the same thing, or indeed Lord that there are still such fine representa- contradict one another. Ttives of Anglican theology still around. • 2.1621 For example, one must determine Just three quick points: (1) The spelling is “Eliot”— whether a combination of two sources (A, B; B, not “Elliott” (cor. in text, Ed.). (2) Piepkorn (whom I C; A, C) always takes precedence over the third knew very well) should not be taken as representative source in case of disagreement, or whether and of Lutheran orthodoxy on the matter of biblical iner- under what conditions A, B, or C is to be fol- rancy; instead, go to Luther, Gerhard, Chemnitz, or lowed even when opposed by a combination of (modernly) Robert Preus. (3) The heart of the prob- the other two sources. lem in Anglican bibliology is the insistence on three • 2.1623 In multiple-source approaches to the simultaneous standards of theological truth: Scrip- religious truth-issue, an implicit calculus of ture, reason, and tradition. Of course, all is well when relations thus functions as the ultimate deter- they agree; but what happens if they don’t? As I’ve put minant of religious truth; but this calculus it in my Tractatus Logico-Theologicus, sec. 2.16 (how I must itself be justified—and when this is rec- love to quote myself!): ognized, the truth-question is reexposed in its original nakedness. • 2.162 If A, B, and C represent multiple Covering that nakedness is the Reformation insis- sources of religious truth (for example, the tence on sola Scriptura. Anglican reliance on “Scripture, reason, and tradition”),then one must establish a calculus John Warwick Montgomery

“Toon’s contribution to the understanding of Anglicanism is hard to exaggerate. . . His courageous and scholarly work evoked much unpopularity for several decades, but it now enjoys deserved and widely acknowledged acceptance.­ His writings in the last days, while he was struggling with a ­debilitating disease, have been an indelible encouragement to many. I count myself as one deeply grateful, not only for his scholarly contributions, but his inspiring faith.”

C. FitzSimons Allison, 12th Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina

10 THE MAGAZINE OF THE PRAYER BOOK SOCIETY ’28BCP In Defense of the Book of Common Prayer–The Early Days

William Murchison then, miraculously, its rise; its rebirth in a time better suited for such a book, than that time in which the empus, they tell us, sure does fugit. Faster church declared war on its putatively antique whims than a young hare it scampers: over the and crotchets. What has been going on here with fence, past the grove of oaks on the hilltop, the way we look at and talk about a book of prayers? andT away. Anyone can pray, right? It goes a bit deeper than that, We old-timers get this sense of flight and disap- I am afraid. pearance frequently: as when, for example, there I remember as a newly confirmed Episcopalian, proceeds from an innocent face the innocent query: in 1971, noting with some anxiety the appearance in “Who was Casey Stengel?” Or the quizzical opening: pew racks of a paperback compendium of “trial rites.” William Murchison “You say there was this prayer book in the Episcopal We called the green-covered creature, “The Green Church, and everyone swore by it, or on it, and then Book.” I remember feelings of unworthy indignation it just, you know, disappeared? Or whatever?” at the decision of a very godly bishop suffragan to At which point it becomes necessary to frame a employ the Green Book, with its spare newspaper- complex answer: concerning the prayer book, that like language at a weekday Eucharist. How could he is. The Book of Common Prayer and Administration do such a thing? I left. My ear hurt, and my mind of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies also. Possibly my soul as well. of the Church, as valued At this unprepossess- and employed in Angli- ing point I commence can/Episcopal worship Upon the 1928 prayer book— my narrative. for four centuries, did There was perhaps sort of disappear 40 its most familiar name— no cause for surprise, in years ago; and, again, it those days, at the Epis- sort of didn’t. And won’t. the contemporary Episcopal copal establishment’s Some explanation seems Church’s disdain fell formally campaign against the called for, and not with language and rhythms of respect to any particular at the General Conventions its ancient book, a work anniversary date on the derived from the uses of horizon. of 1976 and 1979. the Church of England Upon the 1928 prayer and likewise, with some book—its most familiar graceful modifications, name—the contemporary Episcopal Church’s dis- from long Christian centuries before that. We no lon- dain fell formally at the General Conventions of 1976 ger said “thee” and ”thou” in daily discourse, and the and 1979. These supposedly representative bodies ’28 book (like its prayer book forbears, as far back as voted to replace the ’28 book with a version known 1549) was full of “thees” and “thous” and “hasts” and as “the ’79 book”—the version found today in the vast “arts” and so on. One could get the impression—so a majority of Episcopal pew racks, full of “contempo- steadily growing company of liturgiologists argued— rary” language and insights. that our church was a kind of antiquarian’s museum, For all that, the displacement/replacement pro- where the past was more reliably on exhibit than the cess had begun decades earlier. The process acquired present. Moreover, the rhythms of life had sped up friends and sympathizers as it went forward. It markedly since 1928. Television had eroded, among acquired critics as well, and counselors of a fuller, other things, our capacity to hear gratitude at some wiser patience than sometimes appeared in the oppo- length unfolded, for Christ’s “full, perfect, and suf- site camp. ficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins I am minded, on accepting election to the board of of the whole world.” Come on—move it!—we in the the Prayer Book Society, to say a word or two about a pews were said to be crying out. Which we weren’t, matter on which I have written many times—a mat- really, or not, by any means, all of us. That was more ter central to my understanding of what it means the province of the men, at different levels of author- to function as a 21st century Episcopalian. I refer ity, who spoke supposedly in our name. to the saga—there were times, yes, it had almost a The professionals understood that from the stolid Norse feeling about it; lightning and gales, the flash and the solid—that was us, in the pews!—seldom of swords—centered on the ’28 book’s fall . . . and arises the rage that effects change. The pros, with

Anglican Way 11 a mandate from General Convention, were happy away of sin. Confirmation by the bishop, though duly to do the rage bit for us. It was determined that we authorized by the new book, seems less the big deal were to have a new prayer book, one that would take it used to be. account of numerous changes—the quickness of There appeared in the ’79 book a therapeutic touch modern life, the supposed perplexity over old-fash- consonant, supposedly, with the new way of seeing ioned cadences and vocabularies; new ways of think- things. The traditional confessions, full of bewailings ing about and appropriating old truths; irritation at and intolerable burdens caused by sin, continued as the vocabulary of guilt and shame that 16th century alternatives in the Eucharist and the daily offices. But people apparently found more appropriate than we a less ambitious recounting (“we have not loved you moderns did. with our whole hearts,” etc.) lightened the human Among the new styles and preferences was the burden considerably. A corollary cobweb-sweeping imputed modern taste for diversity. We were dress- grew out of concerns that the devil had been, well, too ing as we liked, living as we liked, and so on. What unsalubrious a presence in Episcopal worship. How was wrong with encouraging in worship the personal could modern congregations, with their university taste, the individual outlook? Why, oh, why were we educations and scientific learning, engage the idea of doing things in just the same monotonous way, over a gnome in red tights poking Christians with a long- and over again: one taste, one smell for multitudinous handled fork? You couldn’t exactly ignore such a per- tongues and nostrils? sonage, whose reality was well-attested in scripture, The old prayer book but you could drop such made provision for minor language as “manfully liturgical variations, but The old prayer book made to fight under [Christ’s] by and large Episcopa- banner, against sin, the lians did everything in provision for minor liturgical world, and the devil. . . just one way, Sunday after ” Such language duly got Sunday. Was this what we variations, but by and large dropped. wanted in an era pow- Episcopalians did everything And that was one ered by the engine of per- more thing—this ”man- sonal choice? Not as the in just one way, fully” business; this revisers saw it. Episcopa- tendency (as it was reck- lians appeared to require Sunday after Sunday. oned) in the old prayer choice in worship—the book to push the male amplification of their sex forward, restrain- free wills. And so were born the multiplicity of rites ing the female sex with a gentle hand. By the ‘70s the that helped to lengthen the prayer book from a mere Episcopal Church had authorized the priesting of 600 pages in 1928 to, yea, 1001 in 1979. There would women; some updating of old concepts, and the lan- be dual rites for the daily offices, the Eucharist, and guage framing such concepts, seemed essential. Male burial—modern language for those who preferred it, references, whenever possible, had to go. Not, to be “traditional” for those unready to let go of their litur- sure, “Our Father who art in heaven.” There was work gical patrimony. Within Rite II a single alternative to do elsewhere. The Psalms, newly translated, suf- for the Eucharist was apparently insufficient. There fered heavily. “Happy are they who have not walked had to be “B,” “C,” and “D” prayers as well, the latter in the counsel of the wicked,” begins Psalm 1 in the noting thoughtfully “the vast expanse of interstellar ’79 book. It is the Psalm whose Latin title is “Beatus space, galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses. . . ” vir qui non abiit.” “ Beatus vir” means “blessed is the Thinking the 16th century language of the Psal- man. . . .” Never mind that. The prayer book revisers ter unacceptably foreign to people who watched men had in mind truths that transcended technical accu- walk on the moon, the revisers supplanted it with a racy. There was a politico-cultural agenda to pursue. total rewrite. W. H. Auden, invited to help with the And so a new book for a new age and a new people— poetry side of the revision, threw over the task in as matters were reckoned—came into being: old pat- horror and aesthetic disgust. A modern language terns, approaches, sorrows, perplexities remodeled, alternative to the Lord’s Prayer—“your kingdom reshaped, perhaps dissolved. Or perhaps not. come, your will be done”—made its way into the ’79 Of all this, more in the next issue. book, but I cannot recall (to my relief) having heard it used in years. Particular treasures, it seems, acquire invulnerability to the deliberations of the most delib- Bill Murchison is a member of the PBS board and erate and determined experts. is the author of Mortal Follies, and recently, The It was not much taken note of at the time, but the Cost of Liberty: The Life of John Dickinson. A former revisionists had determined to update—as they saw editor at the Dallas Morning News, he is a nationally it—the theology of baptism. Baptism became Chris- syndicated columnist who attends the Church of the tian initiation rather than just the mystical washing Incarnation, Dallas, Texas.

12 THE MAGAZINE OF THE PRAYER BOOK SOCIETY Children, Confirmation and Communion—A Response

The Rev. Gavin G. Dunbar, St. John’s Church, in the “following of the Apostles,” at least as regards Savannah, Georgia the laying on of hands, a practice widely attested in the Scripture, and applied in the church’s tradition as everal months have passed since I tackled the an outward sign of the conferring of God’s grace for subject of children, confirmation, and commu- various purposes, such as ordination or absolution, nion in Anglican Way. (Anglican Way, Vol. 36. as well as confirmation. So the outward sign is scrip- No.S 2, Summer 2013). In a subsequent issue Fr. Mitchi- tural, and so also is the inward grace—of the seven- can responded, and to his comments I now turn. fold gifts of the Spirit (Isaiah 11, in Septuagint and Fr. Mitchican’s fundamental criticism of the Vulgate), of strengthening for growth to Christian received practice of initiation is this: “in tying up maturity (Ephesians 4:13–15; 1 Corinthians 3:1, 2; the practice of entry to Holy Communion with 13:11), of being armed for the spiritual battle (Ephe- Confirmation instead of Holy Baptism, the Angli- sians 6:11–17; 1 Thessalonians 5:8). Confirmation can Church has unwittingly undermined its own may lack explicit warrant in Scripture, but it is not first principle, that of fidelity to Scripture and the without scriptural roots. Fathers.” In his view, and it is one that certainly many One must question, second, whether in fact share, the consistent practice of the early church was there is a “unanimous witness of the early Church” the admission of those who were baptized to com- against the practice of Confirmation as Fr. Mitchi- munion, regardless of age: the requirement of con- can assumes. Did the early church treat baptism as firmation before admission to Communion is thus full and complete sacramental initiation into the a departure from the early Church. In making this Church (a view which, pace Fr. Mitchican, I did not requirement, historic Anglicanism has acted incon- endorse in my earlier essay)? Though this view is sistently with the Canon of Saint Vincent of Lerins widely held, recent trends in liturgical scholarship that “we hold as essential only that which has been (such as those associated with Paul Bradshaw) would believed everywhere, always, and by all.” “This does caution against the assumption of some universal not mean,” Fr. Mitchican adds, ancient and consistent liturgical or sacramental pat- that the Church can never do anything differ- tern. If anything, such common patterns may well ent than what has been done before, but it does have been the fruit of development, as the churches shared their distinctive practices, or adopted those mean that we should always err on the side of 1 upholding the unanimous witness of the early of others. Moreover, (as Roger Beckwith notes ), if it Church unless there is an extremely compel- is true that Cyprian in the middle of the 3rd century ling reason to do otherwise. The practice of provides us evidence of admitting children to com- only communing the confirmed is a tradition munion at baptism, that evidence is contradicted by within Anglicanism, but it is not one that has the slightly earlier evidence of Origen and the Didas- biblical or patristic roots. In adhering to it, we calia, which gives evidence of deferring admission to run the risk of denying a fundamental principle communion until after instruction in the faith. Not and withholding God’s gift of grace from our only then is there no one consistent practice testified children for the sake of a lesser good. to by all the fathers, but also the communion of all the baptized may well be a later development, rather A fuller response to Fr. Mitchican would take many than an early practice. pages, but these brief comments will perhaps serve Moreover, we do know that along with initiation for now. in baptism and the eucharist there were numerous First, to say that such rites are without “biblical other rites and ceremonies, including anointings roots” is an overstatement. Certainly, as Fr. Mitchi- and laying on of hands, whose exact significance is can says, confirmation is not a sacrament instituted obscure, and may well have been somewhat obscure by Christ. The 16th century Reformers were more at the time. That is why the evidence of Faustus of than clear on that point. Indeed, so severe are they towards the exaggerations of medieval doctrine con- 1. Roger T. Beckwith, “The Antiquity of Infant Com- cerning Confirmation that one is almost surprised to munion” from “Age of Admission to the Lord’s Supper,” The find they retained it after all. Nonetheless, the origin Westminster Theological Journal, Vol. XXXVIII, No. 2 [Winter of Confirmation, as the Articles of Religion note, lies 1976], pp. 125–27.

Anglican Way 13 Riez is so important, despite its lateness: for it is only our Baptismal responsibilities before we shall when confirmation is separated from baptism that its be allowed to partake of the promises of the precise significance becomes a question for theologi- Gospel. cal reflection. This theological articulation is indeed late: but that does not make it inauthentic any more The English Reformers—staunchly anti-Pelagian than the doctrines of grace (clarified in the 5th cen- to a fault—would have been surprised to learn that tury) or the doctrines of Christ (clarified in the 4th the requirement of personal faith “cheapens Bap- century) are inauthentic. The question is whether tism and encourages semi-Pelagianism”! To the con- they are an organic development—in thought and trary, they would have argued, and often did, that practice—from Scriptural and traditional roots. apart from faith, baptism is a lifeless work of value As for the Vincentian only to a Pelagian works- canon: it concerns, as Fr. righteousness. It is precisely Mitchican notes, what is The Vincentian Canon through faith, that the grace “essential”: but there are many of God is apprehended. They things in the Church’s faith is not a straitjacket, in would also have pointed to and life which are not “essen- texts like Mark 16:16 (which tials” and which nonetheless which all things are either even if not by Mark, has been may be required, as a matter essential or forbidden, and received as canonical, and of law, for the well-being of is certainly of very ancient the Church. The Vincentian nothing in between. origin)—“he that believeth Canon is not a straitjacket, and is baptized shall be saved; in which all things are either but he that believeth not shall essential or forbidden, and be damned.” nothing in between. Nor can it be construed as Fr. Mitchican, however, is not finished with this preventing the Church in later ages from applying line of criticism: the principles of scriptural and patristic religion to Moreover, it makes an idol out of the rational changing circumstances. The English reformers cer- mind, giving at least the appearance of teaching tainly did not understand the Vincentian canon in that it is impossible for infants or those with this way. The fundamentalism about early church less mental capacity to have a saving faith in liturgical practice found among contemporary litur- Jesus because they do not possess an adequate gists was not a temptation for them; and the idea that Christian education. this kind of fundamentalism is specially “Anglican” is rather hard to substantiate. It is of course possible for any doctrine or practice Fr Mitchican has other criticisms: to be misconstrued along the lines that Fr. Mitchican suggests: but abusus non tollit usum, the abuse of a To call Confirmation a completion of Baptism thing does not take away its right use. Since despite and to make it a prerequisite for receiving Holy much criticism the English reformers retained the Communion, as it still is in much of the Angli- practice of infant baptism, and the Prayer Book can Communion today, is to elevate a salutary affirms as “certain by God’s word, children which practice into a divine law. are baptized, dying before they commit actual sin, are undoubtedly saved”, it seems unlikely that they I wonder whether Richard Hooker would agree. As were making an “idol of the rational mind.” Unques- Hooker points out, there are various kinds of law tionably, however, they were affirming that whatever that govern Christians—laws made by God, and laws powers of rational mind and will a human being may made by the church, laws of things that belong to the have, must be engaged in the life of faith and the esse of the church (without which the Church is not reception of grace. I cannot avoid the impression left the Church) and things that belong the bene esse, by Fr. Mitchican’s argument—it is one frequently left (without which the Church does not prosper). The by those of similar views—that there is in the conven- requirement that the baptized be confirmed before tional criticism of the received pattern of Christian being admitted to communion is a matter of church initiation a serious devaluing of the role of the ratio- law, but the very terms in which it is made—that a nal will in the human soul, and of the importance of person must at least be “ready and desirous to be subjective faith in the living out of the grace of Jesus confirmed”—indicate that is not regarded as divine Christ. The doctrine of the Spirit, the doctrines of law. (Roman Catholics held that Confirmation was of grace, cannot be understood apart from the doctrine divine institution, but the English reformers did not.) of man, of theological anthropology, of what it means Fr Mitchican also makes the curious claim that: to be made in the image of the Triune God. This approach to Confirmation cheapens Roger T. Beckwith, “The Antiquity of Infant Com- Baptism and encourages semi-Pelagianism munion” can be found at: http://www.angelfire.com/ by teaching that we must bear the mantle of ny4/djw/lutherantheology.beckwithantiquity.html

14 THE MAGAZINE OF THE PRAYER BOOK SOCIETY Where Is the 1928 BCP the “Liturgical Standard”?

By the Rev. Frederick Erb III or modified the liturgical norms of their respective constitutions and canons. For example, the Angli- here does one find the traditional lan- can Catholic Church, one of the largest continuing guage Prayer Book in regular use today? jurisdictions in North America and an important It is remarkably difficult to track down signer of the Affirmation of St. Louis, allowed in its Wparishes where the traditional Book of Common 2002 Constitution (Art. XIV, Sec. 1) a significantly Prayer is still in use. Woe to the prospective visitor or greater diversity of liturgical forms, albeit entirely newcomer to a region who attempts to pinpoint the traditionalist: most convenient location wherein divine worship, The Book of Common Prayer in its 1549 Eng- offices and the dispensation of sacraments make use lish, 1928 American, 1954 South African, and of the 1928 BCP in the United States, or its 1962 sister 1962 Canadian editions, and the 1963 edition Rev. Frederick Erb III, edition in Canada. The mere act of identifying that of the Church of India, Pakistan, Burma, and assisting priest at desired destination from among an unwieldy assort- Ceylon as well as The Supplement To The Book St. Alban’s Anglican ment of mixed and traditional language Episcopalian, of Common Prayer (C.I.P.B.C.) of 1960 shall be Church, Pine Grove continuing Anglican, and diverse “Anglican rite” par- the Standard of Public Worship of this Church, Mills, PA ishes, can prove exceedingly difficult. together with The Anglican Missal, The Ameri- Yet the 1928 and 1962 Prayer Books in North can Missal, The English Missal, and other mis- America still provide unparalleled beauty of language sals and devotional manuals, based on and and spiritual edification for many, and are considered conforming to those editions of The Book of among the most effective catechetical instruments Common Prayer. available to the traditionalist cause. The long and weary saga of the exodus of many Other traditionalist Anglican jurisdictions, such traditionalists out of the Episcopal Church USA as the Episcopal Missionary Church (EMC), today (ECUSA/TEC) and the Anglican Church of Canada remain singularly attached to the 1928 BCP. EMC forms the backdrop to the Prayer Book debates that provinces worldwide, e.g., the EMC in South Africa have raged for well over the last half century. For the and in the United Arab Emirates, use the 1928 Amer- younger generation of Anglicans and recent converts ican edition. The EMC’s 1996 Constitution (Art. VII) who may be unfamiliar with this sad story, at its core proudly proclaims: lies a reaction to the gradual liberalization of main- The 1928 Book of Common Prayer and Admin- stream Church doctrine and discipline. istration of the Sacraments and other Rites and The most widely reported exodus from TEC and Ceremonies of the Church, together with the the Anglican Church of Canada occurred circa 1977, Psalter or Psalms of David, the Form and Man- in the aftermath of the St. Louis convention and the ner of Making, Ordaining and Consecrating subsequent “irregular” consecrations of bishops in Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, the Form of Denver, Colorado. The St. Louis convention, the larg- Consecration of a Church or Chapel, the Office est ever gathering of traditionalist Anglicans in North of Institution of Ministers and Articles of Reli- America, produced the Affirmation of St. Louis, gion, as now established or hereafter amended which established a standard of worship among self- by the authority of this Church, shall be in use proclaimed continuers. It reads: in all parishes of this Church. No alteration In the continuing Anglican Church, the Book thereof or addition thereto shall be made. . . . of Common Prayer is (and remains) one work [This statement is followed by a procedure to in two editions: The Canadian book of 1962 accommodate possible exceptions.] and the American book of 1928. Each is fully and equally authoritative. No other standard Article VII ends by allowing some additional latitude for worship exists (Sec. IV). to bishops within their sees, saying: “With the per- mission of the Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese, other The Affirmation of St. Louis has been slightly modi- formularies in conformity with the theology of the fied, but this statement has never been challenged, 1928 Book of Common Prayer may be used.” although several jurisdictions of continuers and A half century marred with a long and sad suc- other Anglican traditionalists have since added to cession of breakaways and realignments among the

Anglican Way 15 various traditional jurisdictions has been chroni- There are a few churches within the Episcopal cled in Douglas Bess’ Divided We Stand: A History Church USA (TEC), which use the traditional 1928 of the Continuing Anglican Movement (Berkeley, BCP, and even the historic English 1662 BCP. Episco- CA: Apocryphile Press, 2002). Unfortunately, the palians for Traditional Faith (ETF) was organized in pattern of withering or regrouping experienced by 2002 to maintain traditional faith and worship within many of the traditionalist jurisdictions, has made the Episcopal Church by promoting worship based for sporadic record-keeping. Tracking parishes that on continued use of the 1928 BCP. Their website, offer worship services with either the 1928 or 1962 ETF1928.org, includes a “Find a Church” feature that edition has become more manageable with the aid lists names and locations of approximately fifty TEC- of cyber-technology, but individual searches often affiliated traditional Prayer Book parishes through- fail to rise above the challenge imposed by the fact out the USA. that traditional Anglican parishes in North America Meanwhile, certain traditional Anglican juris- belong to at least 45 separate jurisdictions, which dictions such as the Charismatic Episcopal Church may advertise only scant intercommunion arrange- (CEC), which stipulated in its original canon the ments. Not all traditional parishes make regular use 1928 or 1979 BCP as the worship standards, has of the 1928 or 1962 Prayer Book. Nonetheless, the since authorized a rich amalgam of orthodox litur- ever changing landscape of churches of the Angli- gies including their own Anglicanized Roman-style can continuum makes tracking via the Internet the sacramentary. Looking into the future, the CEC is most up-to-date, if not necessarily the most reliable, already developing and intends to use with a greater means of locating active 1928 and 1962 BCP par- degree of exclusivity, its own Anglican sacramentary ishes in North America. as its liturgical standard. Where such developments To locate a Prayer Book parish within the United will leave the 1928 BCP, only time will tell. States, begin with the main homepage of the Prayer Limited space precludes anything resembling a Book Society of the USA, pbsusa.org. From the PBS comprehensive list of traditional Anglican parishes web site, click “Parish Links” the list of Prayer Book in North America, or even an exhaustive list of the Parishes. One can also perform a piecemeal search by nearly 50 disparate continuing Anglican jurisdictions clicking on links to the homepages of 16 separate tra- under which many, though by no means all, of the ditional Anglican jurisdictions that use the 1928 BCP 1928 and 1962 Prayer Book parishes reside. It is the in some, though not necessarily all, of their parishes. modest aim of this essay to provide a mere glimpse of Unfortunately, not all Prayer Book parishes have the true extent of traditional-language use available added their contact information to the PBS individ- to North American Anglicans today. ual parish list by state, and not all parishes keep their The 1928 American edition remains the worship contact information current. Therefore, searchers standard, after nearly a century of continuous use, may simply go to the individual sites of their pre- for a wide range of jurisdictions calling themselves ferred jurisdictions. One must bear in mind, how- continuing, orthodox, or traditional Anglicans, most ever, that not all parishes on a given jurisdiction’s of which are no longer in communion with Canter- web site are necessarily traditional Prayer Book bury, but remain self-described Anglicans nonethe- parishes. A phone call or follow-up email to those less. The overall impact on religious life and cultural parishes of interest to the searcher may be required formation of Americans and Canadians, through to reveal details such as the current times of worship the regular and continued use of the cherished 1928 services, and to verify which edition of the Prayer BCP (and its 1962 Canadian sister edition) in so Book is in use. many sanctuaries throughout North America and In addition to the ACC and EMC, which taken indeed the world, is unknown at present, but even as together account for close to two hundred active par- a remnant long after its glory days, this unique and ishes in the United States and Canada, several other powerful tome remains a welcome and significant jurisdictions advertise some use of the 1928 or 1962 foundational tool of traditional American and Cana- Prayer Books. These include the Charismatic Epis- dian life and worship. copal Church, the Anglican Province of America, United Episcopal Church of North America, Angli- can Church of America, Diocese of the Holy Cross, Christian Episcopal Church (USA and Canada), The Rev’d Frederick Erb III is assisting priest at Anglican Province of Christ the King, Anglican St. Alban’s Anglican Church, Pine Grove Mills, PA, Church of North America (Convocation of Angli- and assists the EMC’s presiding bishop as an cans in North America), the Reformed Episcopal executive director of the EMC Foundation, and as Church, and the Anglican Mission in the Americas. EMC ecumenical officer. He was among the men Traditional Prayer Book parishes affiliated with these ordained by Bishop Davies in 1992, which led to and other jurisdictions can be found via the links on Davies’ abandonment of TEC, and the formation the Prayer Book Society of the United States web site, of the EMC. Fr Erb can be reached via email at pbsusa.org. [email protected].

16 THE MAGAZINE OF THE PRAYER BOOK SOCIETY Book Review Worshipping Trinity: Coming Back to the Heart of Worship Robin Parry, Wipf and Stock (2011)

By the Rev. J. Basinger was: suppose the doctrine of the Trinity turned out to be false, and we had to drop it as a belief—how much homas Smail, a leader in the charismatic difference would it make to our Christian beliefs and movement in England during the 1970’s, practice? Tragically, says Rahner, often very little. wrote a book entitled, The Forgotten Father. Parry’s central point is to assert that this doctrine TIn that book he warned that the charismatic move- matters, and to show how and why it matters—with ment had become so Spirit and Jesus centered, that special attention to public and private worship. Good it had nearly forgotten the first person of the Trin- Theology matters for good worship. “Now I see that ity, the Father. The author of this book Robin Parry, ‘right belief’ about God is intimately connected to a theologian and editor at Wipf and Stock who has ‘right worship’ because believing right things about contributed to the debate about Christian universal- God is an important component in honoring God ism, agrees. He argues that contemporary evangelical appropriately.” (p. 6) services should remember that the Trinity is at the In chapter 2, Parry follows that insight with the center of worship. This is an interesting development. observation that we cannot worship God prop- Just as Smail recalled his readers to the Biblical and erly until we know who that God is, and how he historical teaching on the Trinity, so Robin A. Parry has revealed himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. in Worshipping Trinity wants to apply the teaching of Knowledge and worship go together. This is neces- the Trinity to the experience of worship—that is the sary to our understanding of God as he has revealed worship in the gathered community of the church. himself in Scripture. In one sense, readers of Anglican Way might find While Parry’s explanation is balanced and help- this book irrelevant, since it assumes a context of con- ful, he uses one analogy which was not immediately temporary worship and contemporary hymns. Few obvious to this reader. We are to think of Yahweh as of those whom Robin Parry addresses will be using a hand and humanity like a rubber glove that has the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. However, I think been molded to reflect the shape of that hand. This readers of this journal will do well to pay attention to is to show that we are made in the image of God his warnings and encouragements intended for those and as such are icons of God. But—continuing with in the contemporary charismatic and broadly evan- this analogy—since the fall (Genesis 3), we see the gelical movements. glove as torn and crumpled. The basic shape is still Dr. Parry helpfully distinguishes between worship, present, but it is warped and misshapen. The hand as the response of the whole person to the mercies of is not the glove, but the glove represents the hand God (Romans 12.1f), and public worship or private in certain ways. The incarnation is God’s mission to devotions of Christians. His emphasis in this book restore the image of God in humanity—to mend the is on the application of the doctrine of the Trinity to glove—and, by so doing to mend the whole of cre- the public and private worship of Christians—with ation. In the incarnation, Jesus, the very hand of God, an emphasis on singing and praying. in whose image the glove was made in the first place, In Parry’s experience, contemporary Christians, puts on the glove. In creation, there was the hand and even those involved in programs such as Alpha, (a there was the glove (the image of the hand), but the popular program which is designed to introduce both hand never put the glove on. In Jesus, God heals the believers and nonbelievers to basic Christian teach- damaged glove by putting his own hand into it and ings) find the teaching on the Trinity difficult, com- reshaping the glove around it. Jesus is the ‘hand’ of plex and abstract, and therefore see it as having little God in the ‘glove’ of humanity, healing and restoring relevance for their Christian lives. Ironically, many the damaged image. of these same people perceive that denying the Trin- It just goes to show how difficult it is to use any ity outright, as do Jehovah’s Witnesses, is heretical, analogies to illustrate the relations of the three per- yet at the same time, see little practical importance in sons of the Trinity and how they bring about the sal- incorporating this doctrine into their worship lives. vation of mankind. For them this doctrine does little more than set a Nonetheless Parry’s main concern in the book is to boundary for Christian understanding. apply the doctrine of the Trinity to the public and pri- Parry asks, what if one were to take up Roman vate experience of worship. He develops what he calls Catholic theologian Karl Rahner’s challenge, which the ‘syntax of the Trinity’ through which worshippers

Anglican Way 17 can deepen their experience of the Lord through a Psalm 95, not only are we to come into his presence better understanding of who that God is. Particularly with thanksgiving, but we are to “harken to his voice.” interesting is his discussion to contemporary music, (Ps 95.7c) God’s voice is his words as they have been its place in both individual and personal prayers. He revealed and now are to be taught to others. We can’t notes how many contemporary hymns are sparse in properly worship the Triune God without ‘harkening’ their references to God let alone any words about the to his voice—taking up the difficult task of expositing Triune God. It made me think about the hymns we the text of Scripture in a sermon. sing—do they display the ‘syntax of the Trinity.’ One of my pet peeves when talking about worship of the gathered community is that so little is made The Rev. James Basinger is rector of the parish of Our of the very importance of the sermon. According to Saviour Oatlands, Leesburg, Virginia

Time and Holiness By Allison Steinberg and own souls can’t be the pattern; they are themselves Father John Boonzaaijer in need of the pattern. Life in community of any sort does serve to pull us out of ourselves, but communi- hen Whithorn Press began to produce ties become provincial and idiosyncratic, whether in its Ordo Calendar several years ago, regard to time or to geography. The church and her the goal was a calendar usable not only calendar, developed over centuries upon centuries, Wby clergy in the vestry at church, but in the parish keeps us from being slaves to our own inclinations, homes. It needed to have spaces large enough to write or to the perhaps marginally better inclinations of the in, be attractive as a calendar that would hang in the times and communities we belong to. kitchen or office, and also be affordable. We think we By the same token, the feasts and festivals and have accomplished all these goals! ordered worship of the church foster unity and pro- But why an Ordo Calendar in homes? vide a distinct identity for Christians. In a sense, the The idea of the Ordo Calendar for the family is church calendar keeps Christians marching to a dif- that in this way the families can participate in the ferent beat from that of unbelievers. We work six, rest church year, not only when the church has corporate one. We get up on Sundays and worship Christ when worship, but even at home in family and private wor- our neighbors may be eating brunch or sleeping in. ship, prayer, and devotions. Worship according to the We commemorate Christ’s passion & death during schedule of the church year is God’s chosen method Lent & Holy Week, when our friends are already to apply redemption and its fruit to the souls of men eating Easter candy. We also continue to rejoice in the corporate life of the Church. in Christ’s resurrection during Eastertide when Holiness in any area is rarely because of a huge acquaintances may already be tired by so much cel- breakthrough. Rather, sanctification is a learning ebration. We observe Christ’s coming, birth, manifes- experience, made out of the slow accumulation of tation to the Gentiles, passion & death, resurrection, actions over many months and years. The schedule ascension, and the growth of His church. Throughout of the church—daily, weekly, monthly, seasonally, the year we praise famous men of God, too many to yearly—helps us time our steps, and set our pace to name here, for the Lord is glorious in his saints. And the church and her order, rather than to the disorder then over again the next year. And again the next. As of our own soul. soldiers marching to the same rhythm have a unity The Church’s calendar helps people subordinate beyond words, so the church year is that rhythm for all the experiences of life to the Lord. No matter what Christians. my week has been like, Sunday is the day to remem- Obtain an ordo calendar, then, and hang it on your ber and celebrate Christ’s resurrection. Whether I wall or your fridge. Just don’t stop there! Bring the want to repent or not, the church says “It’s time!” at rhythm of the Church’s life into your life. This means Advent and Lent in particular, as well as during the daily prayer, ideally with the broader church. It means daily offices of the church and especially on Sundays weekly Eucharist, spiritual meditation and direction, before coming to Christ’s table. And there are sea- and annual feast days. Remember the seasons of the sons of particular rejoicing as well: Easter, Ascension, church. Let them make a difference in the life of your Christmas, Epiphany. family, in the foods eaten or abstained from (many The ordered soul leads to an ordered life. The saints have a particular food or dish related to his or ordered life brings health to those in communion her day); in the colors used to decorate and to wear; with it. If we accept that our souls need ordering, and in particular spiritual disciplines undertaken. to what should we look for a model of order? Our Lent, for example, is a particular time for apologies

18 THE MAGAZINE OF THE PRAYER BOOK SOCIETY and making right the wrongs of life in the covenant be (who knows?) that not having formed their own community. Ember Days give us specific opportunity independent tempo of life yet, they are better able to for prayer and fasting for the ministry. discern one coming to them through the church year. And speaking of families: children seem to catch At any rate, we have found that the church year pro- on to this rhythm more quickly and naturally than vides a framework like no other for spiritual forma- adults. (Maybe this is one more way we are to become tion in our students, and ourselves. like them?) At St. Andrew’s Academy, of which And remember again, holiness rarely comes in Whithorn Press is a ministry, students help to change moments of great spiritual epiphany. It is, in the the color of the altar hangings during the week; they words of a book by Eugene Peterson, “a long obedi- check the calendar for which saint’s day it is, if any. ence in the same direction.” They ask questions about the subdued Lenten array, and the solemnity of the altar stripped for Good Fri- day, the red for a martyr’s day, the lilies crowding the Allison Steinberg, Administrative Dean of St. chancel at Easter. Sometimes they’ll check, “Is this Andrew’s Academy; with Father John Boonzaaijer, a martyr hymn?” or “Is this an Ascension hymn?” Rector of the Chapel of the Cross and Headmaster wanting to match the current season or day. It could of St. Timothy’s School, Dallas, TX

Contemplating Ambition in Lent

Roberta Bayer, Editor soul. A life, devoted to one’s material well-being and nothing else can become so filled with personal con- “A dream itself is but a shadow.” cerns and the making of money that it unfits a man “Truly and I hold ambition of so airy and light a for his larger duties towards other men. quality that it is but a shadow’s shadow.” The practice of religion limits this tendency; it Hamlet Act 2, Scene 2, 276 turns the soul toward immaterial enjoyments. De Tocqueville observed that in the United States, on he vanity of ambition is a proper topic for con- Sundays, all commercial and industrial life was sus- templation in the season of Lent. Americans pended. A nation of people more devoted to com- are ambitious. De Tocqueville in his masterly merce and industry than any other nation in the Tanalysis of the American soul, circa 1835, Democracy world stopped. They opened the Holy Scriptures in America remarked upon their overweening drive and in them discovered that their destiny did not to improve their material well-being. They are driven lie entirely in this world—there was a lofty destiny in a nearly manic way to obtain those things, which reserved for those who know their duty, and who can the Book of Common Prayer (most felicitously) calls, expect a right to immortality. He intuited that the the “just reward of their labor.” Now it is right to work practice of religion was their pleasure; it supported diligently, but it is also right to put material self-inter- and indeed directed all that restive energy, in ways est in its proper place. We should thank the Lord in that were not simply material. It was the source of all times and seasons for providing us with the bless- their energy. ings of this world, and look to Him for direction as to The human soul is never entirely satisfied with how to use them. The Collect for the Autumn Ember its ambitions. Dissatisfaction with ambition is just Days (the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday after Holy as common to mankind as ambition itself. The Cross Day, September 14) gives instruction as to how sentiments expressed in Hamlet ring true because labor and industry are properly to be used—for tak- when material self-interest absorbs us, it deceives ing “joy both in supplying the needs of others and us, it leaves us alone with our dreams; enervating, in serving thee their Saviour.” So too, the General it restricts action and isolates men from their duties Thanksgiving at daily Morning Prayer directs us to to others and to God who is reality Himself. “Truly thank the Lord for “our creation, preservation and all and I hold ambition of so airy and light a quality that the blessings of this life.” Ambition for things of this it is but a shadow’s shadow.” Labor and industry are world is not in itself bad, if material self-interest is part our work, but the soul seeks another work, self- balanced with the recognition of God’s providential knowledge and knowledge of God. care for human well-being and duty towards others. As De Tocqueville observed, the soul requires Left alone, ambition makes for itself a prison. It something more than its material well-being. The absorbs attention; ambitious people become occupied Lenten Season is the season of the Church year when only with private affairs. De Tocqueville remarked we can right the balance. It is an opportunity to be that all that elevates and inclines the soul to serve freed from the ambitions which shape the fleeting both his fellow man and the common good, comes dreams of daily life. It gives meaning to labor by turn- not to concern him. Material self-interest debases the ing men from it, in worship, fasting, and sacrifice.

Anglican Way 19 The Society for the Preservation NONPROFIT ORG. of the Book of Common Prayer US POSTAGE PAID (The Prayer Book Society) COLUMBIA, SC P.O. Box 137 Permit No.  Jenkintown, PA 19046-0137

From The Temple (1633), by George Herbert: Lent

Welcome deare feast of Lent: who loves not thee, Then those same pendant profits, which the spring He loves not Temperance, or Authoritie, And Easter intimate, enlarge the thing, But is compos’d of passion. And goodnesse of the deed. The Scriptures bid us fast; the Church sayes, now: Neither ought other mens abuse of Lent Give to thy Mother, what thou wouldst allow Spoil the good use; lest by that argument To ev’ry Corporation. We forfeit all our Creed. The humble soul compos’d of love and fear It ‘s true, we cannot reach Christ’s fortieth day; Begins at home, and layes the burden there, Yet to go part of that religious way, When doctrines disagree. Is better than to rest: He sayes, in things which use hath justly got, We cannot reach our Savior’s purity; I am a scandall to the Church, and not Yet are bid, Be holy ev’n as he. The Church is so to me. In both let ‘s do our best. True Christians should be glad of an occasion Who goeth in the way which Christ hath gone, To use their temperance, seeking no evasion, Is much more sure to meet with him, than one When good is seasonable; That travelleth by-ways: Unlesse Authoritie, which should increase Perhaps my God, though he be far before, The obligation in us, make it lesse, May turn, and take me by the hand, and more And Power it self disable. May strengthen my decays. Besides the cleannesse of sweet abstinence, Yet Lord instruct us to improve our fast Quick thoughts and motions at a small expense, By starving sin and taking such repast A face not fearing light: As may our faults control: Whereas in fulnesse there are sluttish fumes, That ev’ry man may revel at his door, Sowre exhalations, and dishonest rheumes, Not in his parlor; banqueting the poor, Revenging the delight. And among those his soul.

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