"Neither needeth He any solicitor": Andrewes and Ken on the invocation of the Saints
Now, yes, one might have thought that the Book of Common Prayer, Article 22, the Homily on Prayer, and centuries of Anglican practice were rather clear on the matter. However, the key suggestion was that Lancelot Andrewes, in debate with Cardinal Peron, was open to ora pro nobis as opposed to other, more elaborate invocations. This, we are told, indicated a difference between the 'advocation' and the 'invocation' of Saints, the difference being that advocation "does not request their aid in anything other than prayer".
While a genuine attempt to grapple with the reality of the Reformation critique of the invocation of Saints, it does, however, fail to meaningfully explain the absolute absence of any suggestion of the acceptability of ora pro nobis in classical Anglican liturgy and teaching. Thomas Ken is an example of this. Despite the Earth & Altar posting attempting to portray him as proposing 'advocation', his teaching quite clearly demonstrates otherwise. Here he is in his Exposition of the Church Catechism:
I believe, O most holy Jesu, that Thy saints here below have communion with Thy saints above, they praying for us in heaven, we here on earth celebrating their memorials, rejoicing at their bliss, giving Thee thanks for their labours of love, and imitating their examples; for which, all love, all glory, be to Thee.
While the Saints do pray for us, clearly entirely absent is any reference to the the Church on earth asking the Saints for their prayers. As for his 'An Evening Hymn' ('All Praise to Thee my God this night'), it is rather disingenuous to suggest that its reference to the ministry of the guardian angels is a form of 'advocation':
O may my Guardian while I sleep
Close to my Bed his Vigils keep,
His Love Angelical instill,
Stop all the Avenues of Ill.
This, as is obvious from the hymn, is a petition addressed to God, not the guardian angel. And this is precisely the understanding of the ministry of the angels set forth by Ken in the Exposition of the Church Catechism:
I believe, O gracious Redeemer, that Thy saints here on earth have communion with the holy angels above; that they are 'ministering spirits', sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation, and watch over us; and we give thanks to Thee for their protection, and emulate their incessant praises, and ready obedience; for which, all love, all glory, be to Thee.
Again, there is no mention whatsoever of asking the angels for their prayers. To say, therefore, that "Ken’s form of advocation does differ from his [Roman] Catholic predecessors" is something of a dramatic understatement.
What, then, of Lancelot Andrewes and ora pro nobis? We are told that in the debate with Cardinal Perron "Andrewes does not seem to have a problem" with the practice. Actually, in the debate with the Cardinal, Andrewes is explicit in his rejection of ora pro nobis:
In the style of the Church, he [i.e. the Cardinal] knoweth that Suffrages are taken for prayers. Witness his [Breviary], where, in the Litany and Suffrages, Suffrages are taken for ora pro nobis, which we are now about. And those prayers, which we pray the Saints to make for us, are nothing but their Suffrages, in the language of the Mass-book ... And when all is done, it would be known why God should have no need of some (be it Elements, Stars, Angels, or Saints) to interpose between God and men, pour l'informer [to inform Him], and should have need for some to interpose between God and men, pour les favoriser [to promote them]. As He needs no referendary to give Him intelligence, nor no counsellor to give Him advice; so, neither needeth He any solicitor to incline Him to hear the prayers of a devout spirit, but the Great Mediator of all, which is Christ our Saviour.
Of course, as with a range of other practices (the use of icons comes to mind) some Anglicans may find value in embracing pious exercises and devotions from other Christian traditions. This, rather than manufacturing artificial Anglican 'precedent', provides a more realistic and meaningful context for considering such practices and how their cohere, or otherwise, with classical Anglicanism.
The Reformed Ecclesia Anglicana retained an admirable sense of the communion between the Church Triumphant in heaven and the Militant Church on earth. But Ora pro nobis is clearly out of step with its native understanding. However, "Hear their prayer for us, we beseech thee good Lord", has nothing in it which is conceptionally objectionable; although there is no precedent for it to the best of my knowledge in any of the cranmerian Prayer Books. Then again a Reformed Litany of the Saints is rather precedent-breaking. "Glory to God" is ideal, but a supplication which beseeches God to hear the prayers of the saints in light would make an acceptable substitute in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting proposal. I am slightly cautious, however, as I reflect on why we might need to ask God to hear their prayers. You are, of course, correct that a Reformed Litany of the Saints is precedent-breaking but it does conform to the caution seen in classical Anglican liturgy when it comes to explicit reference to the prayers of the Saints. That these are presupposed by e.g. the collect for All Saints' Day is, I think, a given. But still, there is a caution and reticence regarding explicit mention, perhaps reflecting a concern that this risks obscuring a focus on our only Mediator and Advocate.
DeleteIndeed. A dogged focus on Christ as our only mediator and advocate is explicit even when the sacred text unveils the mystery of the Church as a militant body on earth surrounded by a cloud of heavenly witnesses.
ReplyDeleteYou are right that asking God to hear their prayers is a bit superfluous. But having groaned under many jarring AC interpolations from the Missal in services from the cranmerian BCP, it strikes me that "hear their prayer for us" is infinitely better than Ora pro nobis.
Yes, it certainly is better than ora pro nobis.
DeleteThat dogged focus on our Mediator and Advocate, rather than being a form of 'disenchantment' (as some would have it), actually draws us deep into the mystery of the Communion of Saints, for it is He and His intercession which alone gives meaning to this Communion.