Tracing Turning Points in Prayer Book History
Four hundred years of prayer book “turning points” give surprising guidance for current crossroads in worship and common life.
Our guests, Matthew Olver and Nathan Jennings, are here to talk about their new book, Turning Points in Prayer Book History: From England Through Scotland to the United States.
After today’s episode, your view of the Book of Common Prayer may never be the same; not in how you use it, or even maybe what you know about it, but in how you see its role in Anglican decision making and discernment.
From 16th century words of distribution to 21st century marriage services, tracing the patterns of prayer book past may help us navigate the complexities of the present.
Today we dive into the book’s content, the purpose behind it, and how Nathan and Matthew hope it might be a gift to the parish priest and the seminary classroom.
In today’s conversation:
- We trace patterns in prayer book revision across culture and time. Is there a distinctive Anglican way of being to pay attention to?
- We brush up our definition of via media and face the rap for “Anglican fudge,” including what’s deserved, and what’s often misunderstood about politics and compromise.
- We discuss the kinds of historical moments in which revision tends to happen and ask, “What kind of moment are we in now?”
From Henry VIII to Resolution B012, we also venture to guess how the hand of providence has been at work all along the way.
The Rev. Dr. Nathan Jennings is J. Milton Richardson Professor of Liturgics and Anglican Studies and chair of the Anglican Studies program at Seminary of the Southwest. His other books include Theology as Ascetic Act and Liturgy and Theology, Economy and Reality.
The Rev. Dr. Matthew Olver is executive director and publisher of The Living Church, senior lecturer in liturgics at Nashotah House Theological Seminary, and priest associate at Zion Episcopal Church, Oconomowoc, WI. He is widely published on early Christian liturgy and the development of the Book of Common Prayer.
In today’s bonus segment, we turn to prayer again, this time with celebrated Orthodox author and speaker Frederica Mathewes-Green, for a personal conversation about the Jesus Prayer. This is a little taster of ourtime together at our Praying with the Great Tradition conference in May 2027.
Frederica is a wide-ranging author and speaker, mostly on the Orthodox faith and elements of its spiritual life. She has been a regular commentator for National Public Radio (NPR), a columnist for theReligion News Service, and a podcaster for Ancient Faith Radio. She has an honorary Doctor of Letters from King University.
This episode is made possible in part by a special bequest from the Anglican Fellowship of Prayer.
From the episode
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The Jesus Prayer: The Ancient Desert Prayer that Tunes the Heart to God and Welcome to the Orthodox Church by Frederica Mathews Green
Frederica's website: FredericaMG.com
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