The 1662 Ordinal
Of the formularies, the most neglected is the Ordinal: The Form and Manner of Making, Ordaining and Consecrating of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons According to the Order of the Church of England.
Archbishop Cranmer wrote the ordination services in 1550, the same rites that are substantially reproduced in the 1662 Prayer Book. Compared to the Medieval Catholic rites, the Reformation Ordinal was much shorter and simpler, recognizing the historicity of the three orders of ordained ministry (bishop, priest, and deacon), and emphasizing the preaching of the Bible.
“Above all, the English Ordinal is distinguished from its medieval precursors in the emphasis it places upon the Holy Scriptures as the norm by which the Ministry of the Church should teach the Faith and pattern both its own life and the lives of those committed to its charge.”
—Massey Shepherd
In the 1552 Ordinal, Cranmer refocused the nature of the ordained ministry by mandating that all three orders would be given copies of the Bible rather than the Medieval symbols of a sacrifice: chalice and paten (communion plate and cup) for a priest, and a ring and miter for bishops.
The emphasis on preaching and proclaiming the word is again seen in the prayer that ends the service for the Ordination of a Priest (1662):
“Most merciful Father, we beseech thee to send upon these thy servants, thy heavenly blessing, that they may be clothed with righteousness, and that thy word spoken by their mouths, may have such success, that it many never be spoken in vain. Grant also that we may have grace to hear and receive what they shall deliver out of thy most holy Word, or agreeable to the same, as the means of our salvation; that in all thy words and deeds we may seek thy glory, and the increase of thy Kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen”
