A single prayer in the services before Hymns of the Spirit beginning “Almighty God grant that the words” comes from a book identified in the index as the Theistic Prayer Book. What is this and where did it come from?
It comes from the Theistic Church in London, that lasts from 1870 or 1871 until shortly after the 1912 death of its founder and minister, Charles Vorsey, who was driven out of the Church of England. (He’s the father of the famous architech of the same name, if your mind goes to the Arts and Crafts.) At the church, the book was known as The Revised Prayer Book, and ran through three (1871, 1875, 1892) editions.
In both Hymns of the Spirit (p. 146) and The Revised Prayer Book, the prayer appears in a section for additional prayers (in the third edition); it appears, slightly re-arranged as prayer for the “close of worship” in Hymns of the Spirit.
Cross-posted at Hymns of the Spirit.
Just looked it up–I like the fruit and grafting metaphor for the season upcoming. Thanks for another interesting walk down a now little used by way of liturgy.
I find it interesting to think about this era of proliferating, independent, liberal churches. What were the cultural currents and spiritual experiences that made this a regularly occurring phenomenon in Victorian England?
I’ve been interested in this defrocked C of E priest and the Theistic Church for a long time. Apparently, that church was based on a pure theism without any miraculous elements. It’s curious that what may have been a radical naturalism excluding all supernatural interactions in the world was also Christian Universalist.
In contrast, did any of you follow the Forgotten Gospel Conference scheduled in early August at Sanctuary Church in Denver? (Universalist also, but I think they prefer not to us the term.)
I’ve been interested in this C of E priest and the Theistic Church for a long time. It seemed to be a teaching based on pure theism w/o any miraculous elements. It’s curious that what may have been a radical naturalism that would exclude all supernatural interactions in the world was also Christian Universalist.
In contrast, did any of you follow the Forgotten Gospel Conference scheduled in early August at Sanctuary Church in Denver? (Universalist also, but they might prefer not to use the term.)
Please excuse the repeat.
John