Common Prayer?

Since my July 19 post "Education In The Episcopal Church," I have been pondering what it is that holds us together as Episcopalians. What is it that we need to teach our children and people coming into the Episcopal Church about being Episcopalian--sort of an "Episcopalian 101" followed by an "Anglican 101." Being the incorrigible researcher that I am, I headed right for the books.

Since I was contemplating an "Episcopalian 101," I first went to the Episcopal Church's "official catechetical guide," Called to Teach And Learn. Skimming through it during my lunch break, I came across this passage:

Fundamentally, Anglicans are Christians who worship according to some authorized edition of the Book of Common Prayer and are in communion with the See of Canterbury (the seat or jurisdiction of a bishop). We are a worldwide Church comprised of many diverse cultures. Whenever we are found, our identity is as a community of practice. We are bound together by our liturgy. To put it simply, we are best understood as a “prayer book tradition.” Orthodoxy, for us, is right worship. Theological and ethical issues are resolved through decisions concerning liturgy rather than doctrine. (p. 64)

Well, that's all well and good, I thought to myself, but if I remember correctly, the Prayer Book was mandated by Parliament first at the direction of Edward VI (or, more correctly, his Regents' Council) and followed by his Tudor and Stewart successors, with the exception of Mary I. Back to "the library" to find some books on the history of the Prayer Book.

Further reading confirmed my understanding of the mandating of the Prayer Book through successive Acts of Uniformity. Even the beloved-by-conservatives "classic" 1662 Prayer Book was imposed on the Church of England by the Act of Uniformity of May 19. 1662. I did learn something new about the usage of the Prayer Book at the local level during the reign of Elizabeth I from William Sydnor's The Prayer Book Through The Ages.

After these [legislative] failures, Puritan opposition became more secret in its methods. The disloyalty to the Prayer Book, both as to services and ceremonies, continued. Emasculated editions of the Prayer Book appeared and were illegally used in secret.

The Elizabethan compromise, on a middle ground between the fanatical Puritans and the embittered Romans--known as the Elizabethan Settlement--was never fairly accepted. The 1559 Book was used in mutilated form. (p. 35)

Not only have political concerns influence the contents of the Prayer Book through its different editions, people have been picking and choosing from it and using alternative forms of the Eucharist for almost as long as it has been in existence. Which makes it all the more amusing when the Prayer Book Societies in various provinces argue vehemently for the "purity" of the 1662 or 1928 Prayer Books.

So are we truly "bound together by our liturgy?" Is that really what defines us as Episcopalians and Anglicans? In some ways, it is. Whenever I have contemplated leaving the Episcopal Church for a more "liberal" denomination, one of the things that keeps me from jumping ship is the liturgy. But in other ways...

So what should be included in an "Episcopalian 101" curriculum? What is it that is important for every Episcopalian to know? Any ideas? Thoughts? Suggestions?

Peace,
Jeffri