Cranmer and the Book of Common Prayer
Author and theologian J. I. Packer says of the Book of Common Prayer‘s influence on the British people,
Long before the age of fish and chips, the Book of Common Prayer was the Great British invention, nurturing all sorts and conditions of Englishmen and holding the church together with remarkable effectiveness.
Before the Book of Common Prayer, the Church of England’s prayers and worship were in Latin. The Book of Common Prayer changed all of that by giving English-speaking people everywhere prayers in their own language for the first time in history! Its influence on English-speaking people cannot be overestimated.
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The words of the Prayer Book have become a familiar part of the English language. After the Bible, it is the most frequently cited book in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. Like the King James Bible and Shakespeare’s works, many words and phrases from the Book of Common Prayer have entered popular culture.
Not only is it widely used throughout the English-speaking world, but it also appears in many variants in churches across over 50 countries and in over 150 languages. Lutherans, Methodists, and Presbyterians alike have borrowed from the Book of Common Prayer, and the marriage and burial rites have found their way into those of other denominations and into the English language.
So, who was the main influence behind this influential book?
Who was Thomas Cranmer?
The strange and complex history behind the Anglican Church and the Book of Common Prayer centers around one man: Thomas Cranmer. Cranmer was the most influential religious leader of the English Reformation and instrumental in producing the second most widely read English religious book after the King James Bible.
Cranmer was one of the most complex and paradoxical leaders in all of church history. His influence spanned the reigns of three monarchs: Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Mary I. He was a brilliant theologian and churchman, a strong leader when he needed to rise to the occasion, but at times, he was also weak and frail. Ultimately, we cannot overestimate Cranmer’s lasting contribution to the Church.
Cranmer’s Early Life
Cranmer was born on July 2nd, 1489, in Nottingham to a poor family. In 1510, he studied for the priesthood at Jesus College, Cambridge, but forsook this path when he married Joan, the daughter of a local tavern keeper. She died in childbirth, at which point Cranmer re-entered the college and devoted himself to study. At Cambridge, Cranmer was a brilliant theology student and finally became a priest in 1523.
A plague forced Cranmer to leave Cambridge for Essex, where he came to the attention of King Henry VIII. From there, Cranmer went to Germany to learn more about the Protestant Lutheran movement. There, he met Andreas Osiander, a Lutheran reformer whose theology and ideas influenced him. In Germany, Cranmer met and married Osiander’s niece, Margaret.
Archbishop of Canterbury
Henry called on Cranmer to return to England and become the new Archbishop of Canterbury. On March 30, 1533, the king appointed Cranmer Archbishop of Canterbury, initiating an unusual relationship in which both Cranmer and the king used each other to advance their personal goals. The king went through a series of marriages and divorces and sought Cranmer’s assistance in granting permission. The Catholic Church would not allow it. Cranmer consented, believing that the King was God’s sovereign ruler over England, not the Pope. This initiated a series of marriages and divorces by the King, proving to be one of the most controversial periods in English history.
Cranmer was no man’s fool. He used his newfound religious influence to embrace and promote Reformation ideals openly throughout England. Thomas Cranmer carefully danced around the politics of his position and pushed through changes that gradually led to the reformation of the Church of England. Cranmer sponsored the Great Bible in 1539, and during the reign of young Edward VI, Cranmer made the doctrinal changes he believed necessary for the Church.
The Prayer Book
Cranmer’s greatest achievement came in 1549 when he helped organize the Book of Common Prayer. Cranmer and a committee of twelve of “the most learned and discreet bishops, and other learned men” compiled the prayer book from various sources, including ancient prayers of the early church, Catholic and Orthodox liturgies, and private devotions of the Middle Ages. They translated many of these sources into English. In June 1553, Edward VI agreed to Cranmer’s “42 Articles.” These became the backbone of the “39 Articles” introduced in 1563 during Elizabeth’s reign.
Into the Fire
After Edward VI’s death, Thomas Cranmer supported Lady Jane Grey as successor. Her nine-day reign ended at the hands of the Roman Catholic Queen “Bloody” Mary, who tried Cranmer for treason. After a long trial and imprisonment, Mary’s regime forced Cranmer to proclaim to the public his error in supporting Protestantism, an act designed to discourage followers of the religion. In March 1554, Cranmer defended his religious views against a delegation appointed by the Queen.
In an interesting turn of events, Cranmer recanted his Protestantism in private. However, on March 21st, 1556, Cranmer was to do the same in public, which he refused to do, and he was burned at the stake as a heretic on the same day. At his execution on March 21, 1556, he withdrew his forced confession and proclaimed the truth of the Protestant faith. He placed his hand in the fire, the hand with which he had falsely signed the renunciation of his beliefs, and said, “This hath offended!“
Cranmer was by no means a perfect leader. Despite his support for a worldly king and his recantations, he remains one of the most influential leaders of the Reformation. He helped author one of the most beautiful devotional books ever composed, the Book of Common Prayer. Millions worldwide now use his Prayer Book. The Book of Common Prayer forms the heart of Anglican worship and continues to influence English-speaking Christians across many traditions to this day.
Image: Title page from the Book of Common Prayer and Gerlach Flicke’s portrait of Thomas Cranmer, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Digital editing by Jacob Davis.
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