Simply Anglican: An Ancient Faith for Today's World

by Winfield Bevins

Anglican liturgy sanctifies time and space. The liturgy follows the Christian calendar, which calls us out of our secular time and orders the annual cycle of our lives around the life of Christ. Such rhythms and distinctions help to conform us to Christ within a worshiping context. The physical components of the liturgy (altar, candles, vestments, etc.) help to form sacred spaces of worship in our churches that allow us to enter the presence of God without distraction and with pure intentions...

Anglican liturgy unites us with the historic faith by inviting us to join the larger Christian story. In the liturgy, we participate in the same prayers, songs, and rhythms ...

This connection to the past offers a rich tradition of communal worship.

The Rhythm of the Liturgy Every week, millions of Anglicans around the world retell the gospel story through liturgy. So, what is the structure of the Anglican liturgy? Like most ancient Christian liturgies, the Anglican liturgy a two-part journey: The liturgy of the Word and the liturgy of the Table.6 The term “Word” refers to the place of Scripture reading, teaching, and preaching of the word of God in the worship service, and the “Table” aspect of this duo refers to the Eucharist or the Lord's Supper, which is an act remembering the death of Jesus Christ and anticipating His second coming by eating small pieces of bread or wafers and wine.7 The Word and Table structure stands as a unique combination of prayer, scripture, preaching, and Holy Communion that forms and spiritually nourishes Christians through the liturgy.

The service of the Word begins in song and prayer, and then the reader(s) will read aloud as many as four passages of scripture. These readings usually include passages from the Old Testament, a Psalm, something from the Epistles, and a reading from the Gospels. The Psalm is usually recited aloud by the congregation while the others are read solely by the reader. After the scripture readings, a homilist will offer a sermon that is based on one of th...

The Prayers of the People follows the Creed and is a time where the congregation prays together for the Church, the World, and those in need. The congregation then confesses their sins before God and one another. This is a corporate confession of sins of “what we have done and… what we have left undone,”8 which is followed by a pronouncement of absolution. The absolution reminds the congregation that God is a God of grace, always ready to forgive us of our many sins. Having been forgiven, the congregation the...

Without hesitation, the service moves from the Word portion to the Table portion where the congregation prepare themselves for Holy Communion. At the very heart of the Anglican liturgy is the Lord’s Supper, which is commonly known as Holy Communion, or the Eucharist.9 Since the beginning of the second century and possibly earlier the term “eucharist,” which derives from...

The importance of the Lord’s Table can be traced back to its vital role in the early life of the church.11 The Eucharist (or “the thanksgiving”) became the center of their worship together because it was an act of remembrance and a reminder of the future coming of Christ’s final victory. The Eucha...

The presider stands at the Communion Table, which has been set with a cup of wine and a plate of bread or wafers, and greets the congregation by saying, “The Lord be with you,” and the congregation responds, “And with your spirit.” The presider then prays the Eucharistic Prayer, which retells the story of our faith from Creation to the coming of Jesus Christ. The presider then blesses the bread and wine, and the congregation recites the Lord’s Prayer together. Finally, the presider breaks the bread and offers it to the congregation as the “gifts of God for the People of God.” The congregation then comes forward to the Table at the front of the worship space and partakes ...

The balance of Word and Table is one of the riches that the Anglican tradition has preserved...

Anglican liturgical worship revolves around the seasons of the church year. Each season has its own unique set of prayers, signs, symbols, and colors that are rich in meaning and theology.

The church year involves an annual cycle of seasons including Advent, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, and Ordinary. Each season has its own unique set of prayers and themes that center on the gospel of Jesus Christ and prepare us for our journey of faith. What follows is a brief overview of the seasons of the church calendar and their meanings.

Anglicanism is a sacramental tradition that values the place of the sacraments in Christian worship.

When I use the word “sacrament,” I am referring to “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.”1 God has chosen ordinary earthly objects of water, bread, and wine as outward signs to signify the deep inner spiritual realities of the kingdom of God.

The Church’s outward signs reveal to us a deeper dimension of the Christian faith, one that is often lacking in much of contemporary Christianity. Our faith is not an isolated, one-dimensional experience that only impacts our hearts, souls, or minds. Instead, it must engage the whole of who we are, and the sacraments are an essential way in which God, through our faith, does this. The sacraments lead us into a faith that holistically transforms us—our hearts, souls, minds, and bodies.

The sacraments are intricately intertwined into the Anglican liturgy, each having its own service with a unique set of words and prayers that are ancient in their origin. There are two great sacraments of the gospel ordained and instituted by Jesus Christ Himself—Holy Baptism and Holy Communion.

with one another and with Christ. We encounter the triune God in and through the regular worship of the church and in our participation in the Lord’s Supper.

The early Christians viewed the Communion meals of koinonia as absolutely vital to their life as a church. In Acts 2:42, we read, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” The “breaking of bread” (a reference to the Lord’s Table) was a continual reminder of what Christ had done for them. It was also a reminder of God’s ongoing presence and activity in the Church—past, present, and future. The Eucharist (or “the thanksgiving”) became the center of their worship together because it was an act of remembrance and a reminder of the future coming of Christ’s final victory.

For the early Christian community, the habits of remembrance and thanksgiving created a holistic approach to spirituality that celebrated God’s holy presence in, with, and among them as they came together.

Throughout the ages, Holy Communion has typically been the climax of the liturgical worship gathering. At the Lord’s Table, Christians are invited to partake of consecrated bread and wine. They are welcome to the table with the words, “the gifts of God for the people of God.” As the congregation comes forward to the table at the front of the worship space and partakes of the bread and the wine, it embodies what heaven will be like—the union of God’s people as one at Christ’s table. At the table of the Lord, our differences no longer define us. Young, old, black, white, rich, and poor, are all welcome. The Lord’s Table is the family table where all of God’s children come and dine.

Anglican believers practice Holy Communion as a continuing rite. Week after week, millions of Anglicans around the world gather around the Lord’s Table to partake of bread and wine during worship. Anglicans believe that we are continually fed and spiritually nourished as we share in the Lord’s Supper.

God’s grace is given through the presence of the Holy Spirit as believers share in the memorial meal.

Each Sunday, there are usually four readings of Scripture: one from the Old Testament, one from the Psalms, one from the Epistles, and one from the Gospels.

Anglicanism is firmly planted in the Reformation tradition of Sola Scriptura (by Scripture alone). With other Reformation traditions, Anglicans audaciously believe the Bible is not the work of mere men to be read like a novel or newspaper, but that it’s actually the Word of the Living God. The Bible says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim. 3:16, NKJV). Inspiration literally means God-breathed. So, if you believe the Bible is actually God’s inspired Word, then the implications are absolutely astounding and a whole new world of possibilities begins to open up to you.

Scripture should always be read in the context of prayer because prayer is the medium that brings us into contact with the same Holy Spirit who inspired the authors of the Bible. As we read the Scriptures, the Spirit applies the truths of the Word to our hearts. Prayer is the necessary means whereby we understand the Word of God. Without the assistance of the Holy Spirit in prayer, our Bible study will be in vain.

Anglicanism arose out of the Reformation, and from its inception proclaimed that the “Holy Scriptures containeth all things necessary to salvation.”

Strongly influenced by Reformation thinkers of his day, Thomas Cranmer wholeheartedly believed in the importance of spending time in the Scriptures daily. This explains why the Word of God functions as the very foundation of the Book of Common Prayer, which is saturated with Scriptures from the Old and New Testament. Cranmer once said, “The people (by daily hearing of holy Scripture read in the church) should continua...

For Cranmer, Scripture and prayer hold to one another through an intricate connection. In his mind, these pillars of the faith should not be separated. Cranmer’s vision for the Daily Office was a matrix of prayer and Scripture woven together, exposing the reader to the presence of the Living Word.

Cranmer devised a Bible reading plan (lectionary) through which everyone could hear the Scriptures on a regular basis.