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I was thinking about what parts of the Anglican Patrimony I'd like those who become part of the Ordinariates to bring with them, and which not and decided in the end to make it a bit meme-like.
Which single item of the Anglican Patrimony would you like to see Anglicans bring with them, and which single item would you like them to leave behind?
My positive would be public praying of the breviary, or at least of Mattins and Evensong. I've never attended (Catholic) sung Vespers in my life nor lived anywhere where it was a feature.
The bit I hope they leave behind is synodal government. Bossy middle class people will always dominate any elected body from Parliament to a school's Governing Body, and they will always believe that being elected gives them the right to impose their bossy middle class opinions - hence the C of E! (Not to say that the Catholic Church in E&W isn't heading inexorably in that direction.)
Does anybody else want to play? (You can't say things like "reverent liturgy", because we should have those anyway.)
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3 comments:
In terms of genuinely Anglican Patrimony, I'd definitely agree with you with regard to (Book of Common Prayer) Evensong.
With regard to Anglo-Catholic patrimony, I'd make that Evensong-and-Benediction (Benediction being a part of Catholic Patrimony which we seem to have abandoned - often in favour of an additional Sunday evening Mass, and which Anglo-Catholics have very often retained).
They could also usefully bring The English Hymnal to use in place of the (mostly pretty awful) modern Catholic hymn-books.
And they can leave behind liberal Protestant theological journals - though I'm afraid that liberal Protestant theology became fully absorbed into the bloodstream of Catholic academic theology some time ago.
Living in driving distance of Oxford, I can testify that sung Vespers (at the Oratory) is a wonderful experience. It is not as instantly accessible as Evensong, you do need to know your psalms, but it is profoundly moving.
Evensong has its merits too and I think we could have a place for it.
How about sound "Cathedral schools" where choristers learn to sing proper? That would be a useful part of the Anglican patrimony to absorb too.
Anglicanism also seems to contain the last vestiges of our rural Christian heritage. When was the last time you saw a Catholic priest bless a hunt? When was the last time you saw a Catholic priest bless the fields and the crops? I've seen Anglicans do these recently and felt nearly jealous that they were so connected with the land and its people.
unstatistical sampling:
Convents of nuns singing vispers esp in a latinbased language:doubleplus good
Parishsister X(an otherwise Iam sure very holy woman) failing to lead any but three good ladies in wavery sopranos in ANY singing in a catholic church, to the detriment of so much as an attempt to sing by any men but those with rather serious problems....
ANy anglican could do better.( Wow: loverly thought : a catholic pilgrimage, say, belting out Jerusalem like they were gonna do jerico's walls wi'the sound - alonger faith v our fathers, prhpas : dreams are free, aint they?)
And
I don't WANT ANY HYMS AT ALL, hardly. From anywhere.
This whole modern (1960<)emphasis on hyms aint catholic:
"Hyms make the service".
It aint "a service"
It's mass.
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