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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
"The end of all religion is the glory of God; and the means to attain to this end is the right ordering of all our actions, so that they may be directed to His glory." - Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, Preface to the Book of Common Prayer, 1549.
"Worship is the outward form of adoration that is due to God alone." - Rev. Richard Hooker, Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, 1553.
"Worship is that which we owe to God, not for His profit, but for our own health and salvation." - Bishop John Jewel, An Apology of the Church of England, 1563.
What is worship? Who do we worship? How ought we worship? Why do we worship?
Today you may find answers as diverse as the number of congregations in your town—if there are answers given at all! In the past, however, there were consistent answers. Our congregation seeks to operate within the bounds of that historic faith and piety. Worship is the center of everything we do at Absolution Church. Continue to learn more about our convictions on worship and what to expect when participating in our Divine Service.
WHAT IS WORSHIP?
WHAT IS WORSHIP?
Worship is the thankful and dutiful response of God's people to His majesty, grace, and revelation. Worship is more than mere ritual or song; it is an act of adoration, surrender, and communion with the Triune God. As our Lord taught in John 4:24, "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." This calls us to engage not only with sincerity of heart but also with the truth and structure revealed in God's Word. Similarly, St. Paul urges believers in Romans 12:1 to "present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship," exhorting us to commit our entire lives to the worship of God, offered daily in love and gratitude to God's mercy.
Our traditional worship blends the rich Catholic heritage of sacramental liturgy with the Protestant emphasis on the preached Word. In our Sunday Divine Service, we gather in reverent, structured services that include ancient prayers, hymns, Scripture readings, a sermon, and concludes with the Eucharist—often called Holy Communion or the Lord's Supper—where our Lord Jesus Christ truly gives Himself to His people in an intimate and supernatural way. The Church Fathers, such as St. Justin Martyr in the second century, described early Christian worship as gathering on the Lord's Day to read Scriptures, pray, and partake in the Eucharist as a thanksgiving sacrifice. The Protestant Reformers likewise held to this pattern; for instance, Martin Luther emphasized that "a Christian congregation should never gather together without the preaching of God's Word and prayer, no matter how briefly," ensuring worship is anchored in biblical truth.
The term "liturgy" originates from the ancient Greek word "leitourgia," derived from "leitos" (public or belonging to the people) and "ergon" (work or service), literally translating to "public service" or "work for the people."
In classical Greek society, it referred to obligatory public duties or benefactions performed by wealthy citizens for the common good, such as funding festivals or public works. This concept evolved in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, where it described priestly services in the Temple, bridging civic duty with religious ritual.
By the early Christian era, particularly in the New Testament and patristic writings, "liturgy" came to denote the structured, communal worship of the Church, encompassing prayers, readings, and sacraments as acts of divine service.
Today, in Christian traditions, it signifies the official, corporate forms of worship that unite believers in a participatory encounter and exchange with the God, emphasizing both human offering and God's gift of grace, often described as the "work of the people" in communal prayer, praise, Scriptural recitation and preaching, and receiving the holy sacraments.
The liturgy of Absolution Church and the rest of the United Episcopal Church of North America (UECNA) is ordered according to the American Book of Common Prayer (1928 edition). Click Here to learn more about what to expect in a Sunday service.
The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) emerged during the English Reformation as the official liturgical text for the Church of England, first compiled in 1549 by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer under King Edward VI to unify worship and reflect Protestant reforms while retaining elements of ancient Church traditions. Cranmer's work simplified rituals, emphasized vernacular language, and centered on Scripture to produce a more accessible form of communal worship. It is called "Common" because it was written in the common tongue to be used by all people in the Church as one.
Subsequent revisions followed political and theological shifts: the 1662 edition published after the English Civil War remains the standard for many Anglican provinces today (including the UECNA). Its global influence expanded through missionary efforts, which adapted to various cultures while preserving the doctrinal essence of the text. Today it is the worship standard for Churches all around the world, and especially throughout the Global South.
Theologically, the BCP embodies the a moderate Reformational Protestantism—in common with moderate Lutherans and Reformed—while retaining historic liturgical structure of the Ancient Church. It affirms the authority of Scripture as the rule of faith (with the majority of its content being scripture or scriptural paraphrase), the doctrine of justification by faith alone, and the two primary sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist as means of grace. It teaches a Trinitarian view of God, human sinfulness requiring redemption through Christ's atoning work, and the church as a visible body united in worship and discipline.
Structured around daily offices (prayer-focused worship services), the liturgical calendar, and services for life events, it fosters a holistic piety where prayer, confession, and praise form the believer's response to God's revelation, influencing Anglican identity and ecumenical dialogue for centuries.
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