'All generations shall called me blessed': on the wisdom of the Irish 1878 revision removing the reference to 'our Lady'

Amongst the revisions to 1662 in the Church of Ireland's 1878 Book of Common Prayer, one is often overlooked. In 1662, in the Lessons Proper for Holy Days, we find the "Annunciation of our Lady".  In 1878 this became "Annunciation of B.V.M.". There was precedent for this. The 1689 Liturgy of Comprehension simply had "Annunciation". In PECUSA's 1789 revision it became "Annunciation of Virgin Mary". 1878, therefore, was following a well-established pattern of omitting "our Lady".

This was a wise revision. While there were some examples of 'advanced' opinion in the 1630s employing the term 'our Lady' - in particular, Mark Frank's Annunciation sermon - the term was not used in the ninety-six sermons of Lancelot Andrewes, edited by Laud and Buckeridge, and published by royal authority in 1636. Likewise, it is not found in Taylor's The Great Exemplar, even when it affirms Mary's perpetual virginity, nor in his Golden Grove hymn for the Annunciation. When he reminded his clergy in 1661 to preach at "the great Festivals", Taylor included amongst these "the Annunciation of the blessed Virgin Mary". Similarly, Thomas Ken's Sion: or, Philothea, while meditating upon Mary's womb being "kept from mortal Guilt", does not use the title 'our Lady'. In other words, the great bulk of Marian piety associated with what is often described as 'Laudianism', did not employ the title.

This reflected how the Prayer Book itself described these feasts in its main text. The collects and readings provided for the two Marian feasts are entitled 'The Purification of Saint Mary the Virgin' and for 'The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary': neither title uses 'our Lady'. This was also the case with the Black Letter Days for "Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary", "Nativity of the B.V. Mary", and "Conception of the B.V. Mary". The single use of "our Lady", in the - rather hidden away - Lessons Proper for Holy Days, stands out precisely because in every other instance, the Prayer Book uses 'Blessed Virgin Mary'. And, of course, the Magnificat at Evening Prayer was referred to as "the Song of the Blessed Virgin Mary". 

As an example of late17th/early 18th century Anglican usage, George Bull's sermon 'The Blessed Virgin's low and exalted condition' consistently uses "blessed Virgin", except in a single instance when it referred to Roman Catholic practice, "that Litany of our Lady, still used in their devotions". When we turn to early 19th century Anglican usage, the Parochial and Plain Sermons of John Henry Newman for the Purification and the Annunciation refer to Mary as "the Blessed Virgin": neither sermon uses the title 'our Lady'. 

In other words, there were compelling grounds for the PECUSA 1789 and Ireland 1878 revisions not retaining that single, rather obscure reference in the Prayer Book to a title that was clearly regarded as neither fitting nor appropriate in the context of Anglican piety, preaching, and liturgy.

Conforming to the consistent Prayer Book practice in every other reference to the Blessed Virgin Mary ensures a coherence rooted in this Scriptural title, heard daily at Evening Prayer, "from henceforth : all generations shall call me blessed". It is a sign, therefore, of the sufficiency of holy Scripture in defining our understanding of the place of the Virgin Mary in the plan of salvation. 

It also means that the BCP's defining characteristic as common prayer is more fully expressed. The title for Mary that the average user of the Prayer Book knows - Blessed Virgin Mary - cannot be trumped by another title, tucked away in the table of Lessons Proper for Holy Days. The common, ordinary Prayer Book piety which refers to the Blessed Virgin Mary thus unites all those who use the Prayer Book.

That this grounds the Prayer Book usage in the catholic Creeds is also significant. The title Blessed Virgin Mary is united to the use of Virgin Mary in both the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. By contrast, 'Our Lady' lacks this creedal grounding, a grounding which explicitly places our understanding of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the context of the confession of the Incarnation. 'Our Lady' is thus a much less significant Christological term. Its use with reference to the feast of the Annunciation particularly lacks the Scriptural and creedal resonances of 'Blessed Virgin Mary'.

Finally, the Irish (and PECUSA) revision ensured that the Prayer Book conformed to Anglican custom. Hooker, when defending the practice of retaining the saints names of parish churches in the Reformed Church of England, noted "of the blessed virgin [were] not a fewe" (LEP V.13.1). There are very many Anglican parishes named after Saint Mary: by contrast, using 'Our Lady' in a parish's dedication is, to say the least, incredibly rare for Anglicans. Similarly, that much loved expression of Anglican piety at Christmas, the Nine Lessons and Carols, introduces Saint Luke's account of the Annunciation with "The Angel Gabriel salutes the Blessed Virgin Mary" - not 'our Lady'. This itself is an important recognition of how ill-fitting is the latter title in an Anglican context.

There is little doubt, I think, that this minor change in the 1878 Irish revision was unnoticed by the vast majority of Prayer Book users in the Church of Ireland at the time and since. This, however, does not detract from its wisdom - a wisdom which brought a renewed coherence to the Prayer Book's Marian understanding, rooted in the sufficiency of Scripture and the witness of the catholic creeds, and underpinned by Anglican custom.

(The picture is of the Annunciation window in Belfast Cathedral, 1932.)