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Praying
to the Holy Trinity, One Lord,
with Thomas Cranmer |
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The
Rev’d Dr Peter Toon
Whit Week 2001 |
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Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, under both
Henry VIII and Edward VI, not only had great ability in translating
Latin into English but also in writing beautiful and memorable
prose. [see further the important book by Ian Robinson from C.U.P.
entitled, The Establishment of Modern English Prose….] If we look at what he did for THE BOOK OF THE COMMON
PRAYER of 1549 with respect
to Trinity Sunday we find something that is very intriguing in
a doctrinal sense. There
was in the Sarum Missal (the Latin Service Book used in most of
England at this time) a specific Collect for Trinity Sunday and
a specific Proper Preface for use in the Mass of that Festival
of Trinity Sunday. This Preface came after the Sursum Corda
and before the Canon. The Collect for Trinity Sunday is unique in the Sarum
Missal and became unique in the English Book of Common Prayer
through Cranmer’s translation because it is addressed not
to the Father through the Son [as most Collects/prayers] and not
to the Son or to the Holy Ghost [as a few Collects/prayers] but
to the Blessed, Holy and Undivided Trinity as the One Lord, God
and Deity. Cranmer’s translation of the Collect communicates
the doctrine in the original and is as follows: “Almighty and everlasting God, which hast given
unto us thy servants grace by the confession of a true faith to
acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power
of the divine Majesty to worship the Unity: we beseech
thee, that through the steadfastness of this faith, we
may evermore be defended from all adversity, which livest and
reignest one God, world without end.” That this Prayer is addressed to the LORD, the Holy
Trinity, who is the One God, is clear from the fact that there
is no ending like “through thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” However, when we turn to the Proper Preface, we find
that Cranmer made a major doctrinal change. To ensure that the
Preface and the Collect were in conformity in being addressed
to the LORD as the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity on this
one Festival dedicated to the Holy Trinity, he changed the Preface.
Here is a literal translation of the Sarum Preface for
Trinity Sunday: "It is very meet, right, just, and our bounden
duty that we should at all times and in all places give thanks
unto Thee, O Lord Holy Father Almighty, everlasting God, Who with
Thy only Begotten Son and The Holy Ghost art one God, art one
Lord, not one only Person, but three Persons in one substance.
For that which we believe of Thy Glory which Thou hast revealed,
the same do we believe of Thy Son, and of the Holy Ghost, without
difference or inequality: that in the confession of a true and
everlasting Godhead both Distinction in the Persons, and Unity
in Being, and Equality in Majesty, be worshipped: which Angels
and Archangels praise, Cherubim also and Seraphim, Who cease not
to cry with one voice, saying, ... " This, as with the rest of the Eucharistic Prayer,
is addressed to the Father through and in the name of the Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ. However, this address seems to cease for
a while with the words from “that in the Confession…”
to “be worshipped.” Cranmer’s rendering preserves entirely the doxological
presentation of the Unity in Trinity and Trinity in Unity but
at the same time he addresses the Preface to the same Holy Trinity
rather than to the Father almighty (as in the Sarum Rite). It
may be argued that his approach is more logical and even more
daring as a means of communicating the Truth of this foundational
dogma/teaching and Mystery of the Holy Trinity. Here is what Cranmer produced: “It is very meet, right and our bounden duty,
that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks to
thee, O Lord, almighty everlasting God, which art one God, one
Lord, not one only Person, but three Persons in one substance:
For that which we believe of the glory of the Father, the same
we believe on the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, without any difference
, or inequality; whom the Angels and Archangels, with all the
company of heaven, laud and magnify, evermore praising Thee and
saying…” So as to make this Proper Preface neatly fit into
that which went before it and came after it [which were addressed
to the Father] later editions of the B.C.P. had a rubric for how
to use the Preface on Trinity Sunday so that it fitted smoothly
into the flow of thought and words. [The American
1928 edition of the classic BCP changed the Preface to make it
an address to the Father almighty; and the 1979 American Prayer
Book proceeded to change
the Collect as well – and into not very good English.] Today, we seem to be hesitant to bow in adoration
and acceptance before the Mystery which is the Blessed, Holy and
Undivided Trinity. As
modern Collects and Prefaces for this day reveal, we wish to “control”
the Mystery and put it into words that indicate our control.
Cranmer recognized that the excellence of words and syntax are to be used to the full on Trinity Sunday in order to allow God’s people to adore the Trinity in Unity
and Unity in Trinity and to do so even when their comprehension
had been stretched to its limits.
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