I have long thought that the Great Litany of the Book of Common Prayer represents most fully the originating character of Anglicanism. And “full” the litany is. It is a long prayer, composed in 1544 by Thomas Cranmer for use in a national emergency. It soon became part of regular reformed Anglican liturgy, incorporated into the Book of Common Prayer, to be said three times a week.
The litany addresses every facet of human need: prayers for forgiveness of and deliverance from all kinds of sins; from the depredations of evil men and rulers, heresy, and religious indifference; from civil injustice and violence; and from various natural disasters, the suffering of illness, unprepared death, and final judgment. It pleads for mercy for the weak and orphaned, prisoners and captives; for the protection of women, mothers, and children, and those who labor or work in dangerous settings. It asks for renewal of faith, conversion of heart, love for enemies. And in all this, the Great Litany proclaims the truth and grace of the Trinity and of the incarnate life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God.
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