KING EDWARD VI PRAYER BOOK - 1549

 Our Lenten service this past Tuesday evening was from the King  Edward VI Prayer Book.  Edward was Henry VIII's son by his third wife, Jane Seymour.  Jane died from complications after childbirth not long after Edward was born.  Though Edward was crowned king, he never reigned, because he died at the age of 15 before reaching the age of maturity.

From The Book of Common Prayer - 1549:

 Although a formal break with the Papacy came about during the time of Henry VIII, the Church of England continued to use liturgies in Latin throughout his reign, just as it always had. However, once Henry died and the young Edward VI attained the throne in1547, the stage was set for some very significant changes in the religious life of the country. And so a consultation of bishops met and produced the first Book of Common Prayer. It is generally assumed that this book is largely the work of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer..., but, as     no records of the development of the prayer book exist, this cannot be definitively determined.

This Book of Common Prayer was not created in a vacuum, but derives from several sources. First and foremost was the Sarum Rite, or the Latin liturgy developed in Salisbury in the thirteenth century, and widely used in England. Two other influences were a reformed Roman Breviary of the Spanish Cardinal Quiñones, and a book on doctrine and liturgy by Hermann von Wied, Archbishop of Cologne.

This prayer book was in use only for three years, until the extensive revision of 1552. However, much of its tradition and language remains in the prayer books of today, as may be seen by even a cursory examination of the text.

 

Our priest presided at the Eucharist in the east-facing tradition, with his back to us.  As we read the words with the unfamiliar spellings, I had to suppress a giggle from time to time.  The congregation said little more during the service than, "And with thy spirite," in response to, "The Lorde be with you." I'd attended east-facing liturgies before but never using the 1549 prayer book, and I thoroughly enjoyed the service.  I wouldn't want to use the liturgy all the time, but it was a lovely experience. 

Our priest-in-charge has been creative in the weekly Lenten services.  Last week, we had a dinner Eucharist, in which we sat down to a regular meal in the middle of which the communion prayers were said and the elements passed around the dinner table.