laudable Practice

That prudent and pious Moderator of Controversies, George Cassander, who did much for the peace of Christendome ... So said Taylor in the Preface to his 1644 work The Psalter of David . The thought of the Flemish Catholic humanist George Cassander (d.1566) was clearly highly esteemed by Taylor. Committed to the reunion of the churches, and regarded by Papalist critics as much too favourable to Reformation theologies, "the excellent Cassander" exemplified an eirenicism which recognised the need for significant reform while also promoting reconciliation. As Taylor was to say in The Liberty of Prophesying of these efforts, "George Cassander was design'd to this great work, and did something towards it".  Amidst the violence and bloodshed of the Thirty Years' War, the ruin brought by the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and the bitter sectarianism which contributed to these conflicts, it is not at all difficult to understand the appeal to Taylor of Cassander's t...

Today we resume extracts from John Shepherd's A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796). At the outset of his discussion of the Venite, Shepherd describes it as "originally composed for the public service". A short footnote addressing this point is worth considering: Grotius thinks it was composed for the Feast of Tabernacles, and Calvin for the Sabbath Day.  A short footnote, yes, but one that captures a significant aspect of how much Anglican opinion regarded the Book of Common Prayer during the 'long 18th century'. Shepherd is very content to describe Luther and Calvin as "two of the most illustrious instruments of the Reformation". As seen previously, he invoked Calvin to explain the purpose of the Absolution at Morning and Evening Prayer. He was, however, hostile to those readings of the Prayer Book which were "too favourable to Calvinistic opinions".  Which brings us to the re...