Missioner Fall 2019

COMMON PRAYER
continued from page 19
spending this sort of money really the best stewardship
of our limited funds?
Third, my anecdotal experience (which is only that,
but often confirmed when I speak with others in the
church) is that those under the age of 45 are drawn to
Anglicanism because of its prayer book. One bishop I
know in a moderate to left-of-center diocese directed
that the Eucharist be celebrated at the cathedral at the
High Altar, with all facing east, in
the seasons of Advent and Lent.
Why? Because, he told me, the
younger people “want that ole’ time
religion.” Traditional liturgy and a
substantive commitment to classical
doctrine tend to be the hallmark
of the last generation of younger
clergy in the Episcopal Church. This
is a change from the approach of
the Boomer Generation of clergy
in the Episcopal Church, who were
marked not only by a commitment to
a progressive approach to doctrine
and morals, to more “relevant” liturgy,
and a relative disinterest in history
and tradition. “I could do a lot of things
with my life,” one young priest told
me. “If I’m going to give my life to
serve as a priest, I want to give myself to a Christianity
that actually has something substantive to teach, has
liturgy that takes me out of the banal humdrum of my
life, and that has a doctrinal and liturgical tradition that
is robustly connected to historic Christianity throughout
time.” These do not tend to be the priorities of those
who are advocating for prayer book revision in the
Episcopal Church.
The book of common-prayer
and administration of the
sacraments... according to the
use of the Church of England.
London: Printed by His
Majesties printers, 1662.
from the Walter S.
Underwood Collection.
books (mostly Sarum). It is truly a remarkable treasure.
No other tradition among western Christians leans
so significantly on a physical book that contains the
Psalter and the public liturgies of the church and sits so
close to its self-identity. Liturgically speaking, Anglicans
are a uniquely a “people of the book.” If you’re reading
this, the Book of Common Prayer has likely been a
tremendous spiritual gift to you. You’ll want to take
a look at the beautiful new, high-resolution scans
underway of Nashotah’s Underwood Collection. Go
to https://www.nashotah.edu/library/underwood for an
inside peek. ╪
Fr. Olver will also be presenting public
lectures on liturgy in the coming year,
and all are invited:
“A Clash of Reforms: The Impact of
Vatican II on Anglo-Catholicism” at Anglo-
Catholicism III: 175th Anniversary of the
Church of the Advent
Boston, December 5-6, 2019
“The Distinctive Contributions of
Cranmer to the English Liturgical
Tradition” at Worship and Preaching:
The Anglican & Wesleyan Contributions
The Institute of Anglican Studies, Beeson
Divinity School, Birmingham, AL, August
10-11, 2020
“The Joining of Heaven and Earth: The
Heavenly Mindedness of Early Christian
Anaphoras” at “Heavenly Mindedness: A
Catholic-Anglican Exploration,”
Mundelein Seminary, Mundelein, IL,
September 25-26, 2020
MATERIAL HISTORY
Nashotah House stewards an amazing collection of our
tradition’s material history in the form of the Underwood
Collection, just one piece of our Special Collections,
which compromises some 50 volumes that include many
historic prayer books and pre-Reformation Latin liturgical