Over the last few days, I have shown how Dr T G Jalland, my erudite predecessor as pp of S Thomas's By The Railway Station in Oxford, was one of those Anglo-Catholics in the middle of the twentieth century who transformed for thoughtful Anglicans the question of the Papacy; he used the prestigious Bampton Lectures here in Oxford to open up the subject of 'Rome' to a great and much-needed hurricane of historical truth. I have not abandoned my sense of pietas towards him. He was one of the Grandfathers of our Ordinariate.
He used the occasion of the fourth centenary of the First English Prayer Book to preach a sermon which concluded with the summary that Archbishop Cranmer was
"always, from first to last, dependant on an imperfect text of Scripture, on a narrow range of Patristic material, as yet but partially understood in relation to its true historical character, and above all on 'the latest thing from Germany'. It is hardly surprising that his laboriously fashioned structure proved to be, doctrinally and liturgically speaking, a house of cards. But it is ever to his credit that in his command of English and above all of the rhythm and melody of words, he bequeathed to us a treasury out of which may be fashioned in the end 'a manner of the holy communion' far more 'agreeable with the institution of Christ, St Paul and the old primitive and apostolic church' than ever was his own".
"May be fashioned in the end"! A prophetic vision of our admirable Ordinariate Missal!!
(Thanks to Professor Tighe for unearthing this text for me some years ago.)
Concluded.
Father I always thought that Cranmer's tight English was largely because he was thinking and praying in Latin. In other words, the Latin undergirding of his religious and secular life forced itself through up into his liturgy? Do you think this is correct?
ReplyDeleteWhat a spectacular quote! Is the entire sermon available online?
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ReplyDeleteIn response to Bishop Chislett, I do not know whether it is available online, and I rather suspect not. Here are the details of the published pamphlet, two copies of which I found available online ca. June 2008. One I bought for myself, the other I sent to Fr. Hunwicke.
*The Book of 1549: Its Origin and Significance (A Sermon preached for the Church Union on May 12th, 1949 at All Saints', Margaret Street, London, by the Revd. T. G. Jalland, D.D., in connexion with the FOURTH CENTENARY of the ENGLISH PRAYER BOOK.) Published by Church Union, Church Literature Association, 6 Hyde Park Gate, S.W. 7.
Thanks, Dr Tighe. I have since discovered a copy in the British Library!
ReplyDeleteIn 2016 when my wife , an Anglican, challenged me to go with her to the Ordinariate, I discussed my position with my PP , a priest of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter ( FSSP) , who gave me every encouragement and pointed out to me that ABp Cranmer is the second greatest exponent of the English Language, second only to Shakespeare, With my love of the English language (sorely tried by ICEL) he sold me on the move
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