Title page to Free and Candid Disquisitions

Free and Candid Disquisitions Relating to the Church of England[note 1] is a 1749 book compiled by John Jones, a Welsh Anglican clergyman, and published anonymously. The book advocated for reforming the Church of England to enable the comprehension[note 2] of Dissenters, particularly through changes to the liturgies of the mandated 1662 prayer book. Free and Candid Disquisitions followed an abortive effort to revise the Book of Common Prayer in 1689 and other efforts towards comprehension. Its contents were the subject of significant discussion, drawing several responding texts by contemporaries, including the then-Archbishop of Canterbury. While Jones's proposals were generally not accepted by the Church of England, his suggested alterations to the prayer book and advocacy of private revisions were influential upon Unitarian prayer books and the first American Episcopal Church's prayer books revisions.

Background

Painting of Samuel Clarke seated with an open book
Samuel Clarke (pictured) publicly proposed revising the Book of Common Prayer in 1712 and created his own revision in 1724; John Jones was described by historian Ronald Jasper as Clarke's "foremost disciple".

Following the collapse of The Protectorate with the Stuart Restoration, King Charles II of England elevated the Episcopalian party that had been marginalized during the Interregnum. While Charles had promised religious toleration to Royalist Presbyterian Anglicans and Episcopalian Anglicans alike with the Declaration of Breda in 1660, his convening of the Savoy Conference in 1661 to work on the Church of England's liturgy disadvantaged the Presbyterian party. Episcopalians supported restoring the Book of Common Prayer, forcing the Presbyterians to make a case against such a proposal. The Savoy Conference ended without compromise: Parliament rejected proposals from both Presbyterians and the surviving Durham House Group Caroline Divines over sentiments that they were each responsible for the violence of the preceding 20 years. Instead, Convocation produced the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. The new prayer book's use was legally required with the Act of Uniformity 1662, and episcopal holy orders were mandated for all clergy. Some 2,000 Nonconformist clergymen who refused to submit were ejected from their benefices on St Bartholomew's Day, 1662.[3]: 513–514  Anglican liturgical historian Ronald Jasper forwarded that the 1662 prayer book "marked a firm rejection of the Presbyterian schemes for comprehension".[4]: 1 [note 2]

In 1688, ire over James II's personal and political favor of Catholicism spurred English Protestants towards forming a united opposition against the king and revived Anglican interest in comprehension.[3]: 514  William Sancroft, the Archbishop of Canterbury, had advised the bishops in his jurisdiction in July 1688 to enjoin their flock to be wary of Popery and to show affinity towards Dissenters. With the help of some other Anglican divines, Sancroft began crafting a plan that would revise the Church of England's liturgy towards comprehension.[4]: 1 

The 1688 Glorious Revolution expelled James II and installed William III, a Dutch Calvinist, and Mary II as joint monarchs. While Sancroft was deprived of his benefice as part of the Nonjuring schism, William III supported comprehension and the new king established a commission in September 1689 to draft a comprehending liturgy.[4]: 1–2  The 1689 Liturgy of Comprehension was rejected by Convocation by their disinterest in discussing it over the fate of the nonjurors.[5] As Dissenters' enjoyed better legal standing, interest in comprehension waned.[6]: 176  With the passage of the Toleration Act in May 1689, Dissenters were free to worship outside of the Church of England and its prescribed prayer book.[4]: 1–2 [3]: 514–515  The manuscript for the Liturgy of Comprehension was kept from public view by Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Tenison, who feared that the text would result in angst from those who felt its concessions were too great and be used to "justify their nonconformity" by those who found its "concessions were too little".[5]

In 1712, Samuel Clarke, the Church of England rector of St James's Church, Piccadilly, published The Scriptural Doctrine of the Trinity, in which he challenged Trinitarian orthodoxy and suggesting alterations to the prayer book, such as excising the Athanasian Creed.[4]: 2–3  Clark privately revised a copy of the prayer book in 1724 with his own manuscript changes to reflect these desires, removing or changing references to the Trinity and replacing the Nicene Creed with a psalm.[3]: 519 [7]: 244  John Jones, a semi-Arian Welsh Church of England priest who was the Vicar of Alconbury in from 1741 until 1750,[8][9]: 114  was referred to by Jasper as Clark's "foremost disciple".[4]: 3  Jones launched a campaign in 1748 to have the Liturgy of Comprehension made publicly available. This effort failed, and it was not until the House of Commons ordered its publication in 1854 that the manuscript's contents were made public. Those interested in utilizing the Liturgy of Comprehension for their own prayer book revision proposals in the 18th century would rely upon distorted records of the 1689 commission's findings published by William Nicholls and Edmund Calamy.[5] However, public discussion regarding the possibility of prayer book revision persisted.[7]: 241–242 

Contents

Paining of Isaac Watts
Free and Candid Disquisitions praised the hymns and psalms of Isaac Watts (pictured).

Free and Candid Disquisitions[note 1] was published anonymously as a 367-page volume in an octavo printing by A. Millar of London in 1749.[1] A second edition was published in 1750.[10] The volume consists both of passages that Jones compiled from divines, many of whom were contemporaries with him, and Jones's own suggestions.[6]: 177 [4]: 5 [11]: 211  It is presented as a series of "queries and observations" on a number of issues, primarily liturgical, and addressed to the Church of England, the state, and–most directly–Convocation.[11]: 211 [12]: 15  An appendix is included containing documentary evidence dating from between 1604 to 1748,[7]: 243  starting with Francis Bacon and including Calamy's coverage of the 1689 effort.[6]: 178  The book follows Clarke's example in its proposals challenging Trinitarian orthodoxy.[3]: 519  Should the Church of England fail to adopt these comprehending liturgical reforms, Jones argued, Dissenters should begin privately creating their own revisions.[12]: 15 

Among the changes to the prayer book and its liturgies that Jones sought in order to effect comprehension was the removal of the Athanasian Creed (due to incomprehensibility rather than error), excessive repetition of the Lord's Prayer and Gloria Patri, sponsors at baptism, and anything not permitted by the Bible.[4]: 3 [11]: 211  The lectionary and liturgical calendar were scrutinized, with Jones suggesting that proper psalms be assigned to each Sunday.[12]: 15  Jones's Puritan-like views were made evident in urging for the sign of the cross in the baptismal office be made optional and private baptism abolished.[6]: 177–178  The only explicit doctrinal change suggested in Free and Candid Disquisitions is the alteration or outright cessation of infant baptism.[9]: 115 

Jones also contended that there was a pressing need for additional topical prayers and other new content,[6]: 177 [13] expressing a desire for prayers for families and use in prisons.[9]: 115  He declared that introducing the proposed changes to collects from 1689 would bring them to "the utmost perfection". Jones also pressed for combining and abbreviating the Sunday morning liturgies (also called the Divine Service): instead of Morning Prayer, the Litany, and Holy Communion offices, they should be combined into a single, shorter office.[11]: 11, 211 [12]: 15 

Concern was also raised regarding the state of many parishes being such that no hymns were recited, saying, "neither psalm nor hymn can be had even on Sundays, much less on holy‐days and other days of prayer. So thin are the congregations, and so unskilled in singing." Jones praised Isaac Watts's psalms and hymns–commenting on "the Christian instruction, and goodly solace and comfort" they provided–and called for further hymns to be written.[13] Desiring a better metrical psalter, the Sternhold and Hopkins psalter was targeted for removal.[6]: 177 [9]: 115 

The book also argues for other substantial reform in the Church of England, including reducing the number of tenets to which clergy would be required to subscribe.[14] Through the book, Jones challenged the requirement of subscribing to the Thirty-nine Articles for those who may not fully understand what teachings the articles affirm. He appraised the Reformation as an unfinished work and sought its completion, suggesting alterations to the Canons of 1604. The relevancy of the The Books of Homilies is also the subject of questioning while a new Bible translation is suggested.[15]

Reception and influence

Francis Blackburne (pictured) published a book in defense of Jones's work in 1751. Blackburne's son-in-law Theophilus Lindsey credited Free and Candid Disquisitions in his influential 1774 Unitarian prayer book.

Upon publication, Free and Candid Disquisitions and its proposals reinvigorated public debate regarding reform in the Church of England and has been credited as reopening the Bangorian Controversy.[15][10] Replies came quickly, including from clergyman John Boswell's large, two-part work,[note 3] which was published in 1750 and 1751 and argued against the need for the proposed reforms. Boswell's Remarks defended the 1662 prayer book as containing the best of early Christian liturgies and supported continuing both clerical subscription to the Thirty-nine Articles and the restrictions of the Test Acts. Boswell further argued against Free and Candid Disquisitions's Puritan sentiments he deemed responsible for "the dreadful Scene of Misery, which we suffer'd in the last Century".[16] Another critique was published by John White, a fellow of St John's College, Cambridge, in 1751.[10][15]

In defense of Jones's book, clergyman Francis Blackburne published An Apology for the Author of the Free and Candid Disquisitions in 1750. This led some to believe that Blackburne had been the author of the original 1749 text.[15] Blackburne had not contributed to Free and Candid Disquisitions; instead, Blackburne had read it in manuscript and suggested no changes. After reading the manuscript, Blackburne lambasted Jones for the latter's trepidation over possibly offending those in power.[10][12]: 26  Jones published Catholic Faith in Practice in 1765 and established the Catholic Christianity Society in support of his objectives, dying in 1770.[15][12]: 16  Free and Candid Disquisitions, along with Blackburne's 1766 The Confessional, proved influential upon the 1771–1774 Feathers Tavern Petition against the requirement of clerical subscription to the Thirty-nine Articles.[17]

In 1753, A New Form of Common-Prayer was published anonymously and gave credit to Free and Candid Disquisitions on its first page. A New Form of Common-Prayer offered liturgical revisions that answered Jones's queries, submitting these proposals and the duty of finally perfecting the Reformation to the Archbishop of Canterbury. However, it generally considered that Thomas Herring–himself the Archbishop of Canterbury–wrote A New Form of Common-Prayer.[11]: 211–212  Herring, who had been perhaps motivated by similar desires as Jones's when accepting nomination to the archiepiscopate, would express uncertainty regarding pursuing reform for fear of encountering clerical and lay resistance that showed "determination and even peremptoriness".[12]: 16  Ultimately, Convocation did not address Jones's proposals.[12]: 16 [note 4] Only one proposed alteration to the prayer book was actually accepted: in 1759, a topical prayer "for the ceasing of the distemper which lately raged among the horned cattle in this kingdom"–something Jones had specifically requested–was added. However, Free and Candid Disquisitions's appeal for unofficial revisions succeeded.[6]: 177–178 

Between 1751 and 1768, a half dozen individuals created their own revision formulas, with each demonstrating varying degrees of influence from the 1689 proposal and Free and Candid Disquisitions.[12]: 16  Theophilus Lindsey, a son-in-law of Blackburne and Feathers Tavern petitioner, acquired a copy of Clarke's manuscript changes to the prayer book from John Disney, another son-in-law of Blackburne. From this, Lindsey published a revised prayer book[note 5] which he used at his Essex Street Chapel. Crediting both Clarke and Free and Candid Disquisitions,[9]: 116  Lindsey's liturgy proved the dominant influence on Unitarian prayer books.[12]: 17–18 [note 6] Charles Wesley's 1784 The Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America was very similar to Lindsey's liturgy, Jones's suggestions, and the Savoy Conference's Puritan proposals.[12]: 19 [note 7]

Following the American Revolution, the Episcopal Church of the United States set about revising its own edition of the prayer book. The proposed revision submitted in 1786 featured a preface of queries described by liturgist Marion J. Hatchett as an outline of Free and Candid Disquisitions.[11]: 222–223  William Smith's work on the 1786 proposed prayer book led some of his fellow clergymen to believe he had made the revision with a copy of Free and Candid Disquisitions beside him.[9]: 158  Demonstrating the desire for substantial change beyond simple alterations, the 1786 text was seldom used before the Episcopal Church adopted another revision submitted in 1789.[11]: 222–225  Hatchett held that Jones's work was also among the influences of the 1789 American Book of Common Prayer.[19] A shortened version of the 1786 preface was retained in the succeeding prayer books of the Episcopal Church through to its current edition, retaining the influence from Free and Candid Disquisitions.[20]

Richard Watson, the Bishop of Llandaff, would publish an anonymous pamphlet[note 8] in 1790 containing liturgical proposals also based on Clarke and Free and Candid Disquisitions.[4]: 4–5  William Winstanley Hull published a work[note 9] in 1828 that look favorably upon the 1789 American prayer book and put forward that a royal commission or House of Commons select committee be established to reform the prayer book. Among the changes submitted was a synthesis of the three Sunday morning liturgies based on Jones's proposals.[4]: 14–15  Hull's proposed liturgical revisions were similar to others in the early 19th century, demonstrating a Low Church bias and relying upon the prior works of the 1689 effort, Clarke, and Jones. Such proposals remained the norm until Tractarians later in the century renewed interest in pre-Reformation ritual and forwarded revisions to restore these practices.[4]: 19, 128–129 [6]: 192–193 

Notes

  1. 1 2 The work's full title is Free and Candid Disquisitions Relating to the Church of England, and the Means of Advancing Religion therein; addressed to the governing powers in Church and State, and more immediately directed to the two Houses of Convocation.[1]
  2. 1 2 Comprehension refers to affording latitude within the Church of England that allows Dissenters to remain practicing members within it.[2]
  3. ↑ Boswell's response was titled Remarks upon a treatise, intituled Free and candid disquisitions relating to the Church of England.[16] It was published as an octavo.[10]
  4. ↑ Convocation had not performed anything other than "formal business" since 1717.[12]: 16 [6]: 177 
  5. ↑ The title of Lindsey's prayer book in its 1774 edition was The Book of Common Prayer Reformed according to the Plan of the late Dr Samuel Clarke.[12]: 17 
  6. ↑ Lindsey attributed his departure from ministry in the Church of England to a letter by William Robertson; Robertson's own resignation from the established church was over liturgical concerns he had developed after reading Free and Candid Disquisitions.[18]
  7. ↑ Wesley's service book also shows use of Calamy's history.[12]: 19  Unlike Unitarian revisions and the 1786 American proposed prayer book, Wesley's liturgies reflected Trinitarian orthodoxy.[9]: 160–161 
  8. ↑ The title of Watson's pamphlet was Considerations on the Expediency of Revising the Liturgy and Articles of the Church of England, by a Consistent Protestant.[4]: 4 
  9. ↑ The title of Watson's work was Inquiry Concerning the Means and Expedience of proposing and making any Change in the Canons, Articles or Liturgy, or in any of the Laws affecting the interests of the Church of England.[4]: 14 

References

  1. 1 2 Halkett, Samuel; Laing, John; Kennedy, James; Smith, W. A.; Johnson, A. F., eds. (1926). Dictionary of Anonymous and Pseudonymous English Literature: New and Enlarged Edition. Vol. II. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd. p. 327 – via Google Books.
  2. ↑ Healy, Jonathan (2023). The Blazing World: A New History of Revolutionary England, 1603–1689. New York City: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 327. ISBN 9780593318355. LCCN 2022038721.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Spinks, Bryan D. (2006). "Anglicans and Dissenters". In Wainwright, Geoffrey; Westerfield Tucker, Karen B. (eds.). The Oxford History of Christian Worship. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-513886-3.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Jasper, R. C. D. (1954). Prayer Book Revision in England: 1800–1900. London: Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge.
  5. 1 2 3 Fawcett, Timothy J. (1973). The Liturgy of Comprehension 1689: An abortive attempt to revise The Book of Common Prayer. Alcuin Club Collections. Southend-on-Sea: Alcuin Club. p. 45–46. ISBN 0-85597-031-6.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Cuming, G. J. (1969). A History of Anglican Liturgy (1st ed.). London: St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Publishers.
  7. 1 2 3 Tucker, Karen B. Westerfield (July 1996). "John Wesley's Prayer Book Revision: The Text in Context" (PDF). Methodist History. 34 (4). Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 April 2022 – via General Commission on Archives and History, United Methodist Church.
  8. ↑ Williams, Daniel (1959). "Jones, John (1700 - 1770), cleric and controversialist". Dictionary of Welsh Biography – via National Library of Wales.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Marshall, Paul Victor (2004). One, Catholic, and Apostolic: Samuel Seabury and the Early Episcopal Church. New York City: Church Publishing Company. ISBN 0-89869-447-7.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "Queries with Answers. Revision of the Prayer-Book". Notes and Queries (232): 448. 9 June 1860 – via Google Books.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hefling, Charles (2021). The Book of Common Prayer: A Guide. Guides to Sacred Texts. New York City: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190689698. LCCN 2020018761.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Jasper, R. C. D. The Development of the Anglican Liturgy, 1662–1980. London: Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge. ISBN 0-281-04441-4.
  13. 1 2 Watson, J. R. (1999). "After the Wesleys". The English Hymn: A Critical and Historical Study. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 265–299. ISBN 0-19-827002-X.
  14. ↑ Rivers, Isabel; Wykes, David, eds. (2008). "Joseph Priestley and the Complexities of Latitudinarianism in the 1770s" (PDF). Joseph Priestley, Scientist, Philosopher, and Theologian. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 144-171. ISBN 978-0-19-921530-0 – via University of Kent.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Stephens, John (3 January 2008). "Jones, John". Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  16. 1 2 Sharp, Richard (23 September 2004). "Boswell [Bozwel], John". Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  17. ↑ Ditchfield, G. M. (22 September 2005). "Feathers tavern petitioners (act. 1771–1774)". Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  18. ↑ Stewart, M. A. (22 September 2005). "Robertson, William". Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  19. ↑ Hatchett, Marion (1982). The Making of the First American Book of Common Prayer, 1776–1789. Seabury Press. p. 129.
  20. ↑ Armentrout, Don S.; Slocum, Robert Boak, eds. (2000). "Prayer Book Preface". An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians. New York City: Church Publishing Incorporated, The Episcopal Church – via episcopalchurch.org.

Further reading

  • Peaston, A. E. (1940). The Prayer Book Reform Movement in the 18th Century. Oxford University Press. A thorough survey of various prayer book revision efforts, with particular emphasis on Arian and Unitarian liturgies.
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