Anglicans will feel 'Rite' at home with 'Book of Divine Worship'

The Catholic Church's authorized version of the Anglican Liturgy

While the Anglican Use "Book of Divine Worship" has been around for awhile, most likely its use will become much more prominent as Anglican congregations come into full communion with the Catholic Church under the new Apostolic Constitution.

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - In 2011 we will be receiving the first wave of converts from the Anglican Communion under the auspices of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicorum Coetibus. Ready to greet them on this side of the Tiber is a prayer book that will seem extremely familiar but with some minor changes - The Book of Divine Worship (BDW).

Based upon the 1979 Book of Common Prayer (BCP) of the Episcopal Church, USA, the BDW retains the style of the Anglican Liturgy while conforming the rites to Catholic theology and certain parts of the Roman Canon.

Anglican use parishes traditionally celebrate the Mass ad orientum - facing the East. That means that the priest celebrant leads the entire community in worship, facing the altar along with them. For centuries all Churches were built facing the East. That is where the Lord will return. 

As with the BCP, the volume contains two rites: Rite One uses traditional language, while Rite Two is written in the vernacular.

For example, the Opening Collect in Rite One reads, "Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen."

In Rite Two, the same prayer reads, "Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen."

The BDW was produced by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and approved by the Vatican for use by Anglican Use parishes. These parishes were formed under the Pastoral Provision enacted by Pope John Paul II in 1980 for Anglican Priests and Parishes that desired to enter the Catholic Church.

The BDW, in print form, is quite hefty 6" X 9" book of almost 1000 pages. It is currently out of print but available in pdf form from the Church of the Atonement at atonementonline.com.

Anglican liturgies have always been known for their stylistic beauty as they were originally crafted in the English language. One example of this is the Prayer of Humble Access which may be prayed at the end of the Eucharistic prayer.

"We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy. Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen."

For the BDW, while the Roman Canon was used for the Prayer of Consecration in the Liturgy of the Eucharist, in Rite One it was re-worded in traditional language to keep it consistent with the rest of the text.

The BDW also included a traditional language Psalter, which was a glaring omission from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. Many traditional language Anglicans had always faulted the '79 book for the strange blend of traditional and contemporary English they were forced to use.

In additional to the Holy Eucharist, the BDW also contains the Daily Offices of Prayer and the Daily Office Lectionary, for those who desire to follow the Anglican offices of prayer.

With the BDW out of print, there is a lot of speculation of a new edition and reasons for the revision. Some wonder if they may incorporate certain aspects of the new Roman Missal Others have suggested that they will be removing Rite Two from the new text. One possible consideration could involve the Sarum Use.

The Sarum Use was an early 11th Century Catholic liturgy established by Saint Osmund, bishop of Salisbury for use in his diocese. It was ultimately used by churches throughout England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland until it was abandoned after the separation of the Church of England from the Catholic Church.

The Sarum Use has had a significant influence on the Book of Common Prayer, in its various versions, over the years. No doubt any new revisions will strengthen the BDW's Catholic core. By including elements of the Sarum Use, however, it could also provide it with a much stronger Anglo-Catholic patrimony.

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Randy Sly is the Associate Editor of Catholic Online and the CEO/Associate Publisher for the Northern Virginia Local Edition of Catholic Online (http://virginia.catholic.org). He is a former Archbishop of the Charismatic Episcopal Church who laid aside that ministry to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church.

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