One of the most fiercely contested issues in the history of Anglicanism is the nature of Cranmer’s mature view of Holy Communion.  As the first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury, he was the architect of the first two Church of England prayer books, and these liturgies, in one form or another, shaped Anglican worship well into the twentieth century.  Although everyone must agree that ultimately the remembrance of our Lord’s death with bread and wine is a mystery, Western Christendom has divided into various rival camps over their competing understandings of how it works, and even what to call it.  Is it properly the Mass, the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion or the Eucharist (i.e., Thanksgiving)? Naturally, generations of scholars and church people have parsed the words of Cranmer’s services to see where Anglicanism stands amidst these divisions.

Copyright 2021 John Ashley Null; all rights reserved; used by permission for educational purposes