laudable Practice

In his Good Friday 1718 sermon, ' Of Glorying in the Cross of Christ ', preached at St. James' Chapel, Francis Atterbury - then Bishop of Rochester - addressed the relationship of the Holy Communion to the Cross. The sermon is suggestive of the 18th century Church of England practice of administering the holy Sacrament on Good Friday .  Mindful that Atterbury was a representative of the High Church tradition, the (thoroughly Protestant) sacramental teaching he here sets forth was commonplace across the Church of England, a sign of the ' unity and accord ' of 18th century Anglicanism. While it would come to be condemned by the Tractarians and their successors as an unacceptably 'low' eucharistic theology, Atterbury demonstrates how it could give rise to a warm and vibrant sacramental piety.  The sermon is an example of how the language of 'symbols' and 'remembrance' - the standard eucharistic discourse of 18th century Anglicanism - should not ...

O Lord, save the King ... Endue him plenteously with heavenly gifts ... We beseech thee also to save and defend all Christian Kings, Princes, and Governors; and especially Charles our King ; that under him we may be godly and quietly governed ... It was, over centuries, a characteristic of Anglican liturgy. We regularly - daily at Morning and Evening Prayer, and weekly in the Prayer for the Church Militant - prayed for the King. It was understood to be so integral to the Book of Common Prayer that, at the foundation of the American republic, the prayers for the monarch were transferred to the President : O Lord, our heavenly Father, the high and mighty Ruler of the universe, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers upon earth; Most heartily we beseech thee, with thy favour to behold and bless thy servant The President of the United States, and all others in authority; and so replenish them with the grace of thy Holy Spirit, that they may always incline to thy will, and walk in ...