History has not ended: the Prayer Book's state prayers in a time of fear and loathing
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty - I Timothy 2:1-2.
From this, two advantages result. First, hatred towards those who are without is done away; for no one can feel hatred towards those for whom he prays: and they again are made better by the prayers that are offered for them ... For God has appointed government for the public good ... For they are a sort of bulwarks thrown up before us, within which those who are enclosed are in peace and safety - Chrysostom, Homily 6 on I Timothy, addressing 2:1-2.
The bitterness and division in our public life in the United Kingdom is all too obvious. Yesterday in the House of Commons this was displayed in a manner which even seasoned participants and commentators found to be disturbing and shocking.
What should the Church be doing?
Prayer for the public realm and public institutions should be the Church's first and most enduring response. A holding up of our institutions, public servants, and polity before the Triune God, "that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life".
Historically, Anglican liturgy has recognised this duty and vocation. Each day, at Mattins and Evensong, there is the prayer 'O Lord, save the Queen', for in the person of the monarch the whole realm is personified. In the Litany, there is prayer for the monarch and for those who govern in her name, that they may be given "grace, wisdom, and understanding". The 'Prayer for the High Court of Parliament, to be read during their Session' petitions, "That thou wouldest be pleased to direct and prosper all their consultations". (It is noteworthy the PECUSA BCP 1928 has this as 'A Prayer for Congress'.) In the Communion Office, the Prayer for the Church Militant prominently includes prayer for the good of the realm:
We beseech thee also to save and defend all Christian Kings, Princes, and Governors; and specially thy servant ELIZABETH our Queen; that under her we may be godly and quietly governed: And grant unto her whole Council, and to all that are put in authority under her, that they may truly and indifferently minister justice, to the punishment of wickedness and vice, and to the maintenance of thy true religion, and virtue.
The contrast with contemporary liturgies is stark. It is possible to prayer Common Worship Daily Prayer throughout the year, and not pray once for the Queen, Parliament, or the realm. The traditional versicles and responses after the Lord's Prayer - in which the Queen is prayed for twice daily - are omitted, while the section entitled 'Other Prayers' includes no state prayers. There is a petition in the Litany for monarch and Parliament, but the Prayer Book rubric directing the use of the Litany on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays is not included.
As for the Eucharistic rite, while of the forms provided most do pray for the Queen and Parliament, they can lack any sense of seeking the good the realm. For example:
For Elizabeth our Queen, for the leaders of the nations, and for all in authority, let us pray to the Lord.
What is more, Common Worship has encouraged the practice of using "other suitable words" for the intercessions, with the inevitable consequence that this important aspect of the Church's prayer tends to lack theological coherence. It is similarly the case with the Church of Ireland's BCP 2004, with the contemporary language Eucharistic rite offering optional forms of intercession that include only passing reference to the monarch, while the guidance provided for 'The Intercessions' has no specific mention of the need to pray for those who govern the community and the public institutions. TEC BCP 1979, of the six forms of intercession offered, only one includes prayer for the President, likewise bland and insubstantive.
We might say that in these liturgies prayers for those who govern and for public institutions have moved from being prayers from somewhere to being prayers from anywhere. They lack any sense of being grounded in the experience of this polity, this place, and any notion of a Christian vision of common flourishing.
Also noticeable is the contrast between the state prayers of the Prayer Book tradition, written with experience of the fragility of political institutions, of the dangers inherent in intense political conflict, of the need for a shared understanding of the good of the realm, and contemporary liturgies with their apparent assumption that history has ended, reflecting the easy consensus of the Blair and Clinton era. Ironically, then, in a political context of "fear and loathing", of bitter division, we have Fukayama liturgies.
We need something more. We need the state prayers of the Prayer Book tradition, emerging as they did from the bitter experience of political breakdown. Not banal prayers from anywhere, but prayers from somewhere, from and for this polity, that "we may be godly and quietly governed", that the institutions which govern and sustain this realm - Crown, Parliament, courts - would be blessed, protected, guided, "that all things may be so ordered and settled by their endeavours, upon the best and surest foundations".
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