Edwardine Ordinals

The Edwardine Ordinals were the ordination rites authorized in the reign of King Edward VI for the making of deacons, priests, and bishops in the reformed Church of England. They are central to Anglican history because they shaped the prayer book understanding of ordained ministry and became a major reference point in later debates about Anglican orders. The ordinals belong to the same Edwardian reforming world as the Book of Common Prayer (1549) and the later 1552 prayer book.

Definition

An ordinal is a liturgical book or rite used for ordination. The Edwardine Ordinals provided English rites for admitting persons to the orders of deacon, priest, and bishop. The first Edwardian ordinal was issued in 1550 and was later revised in relation to the 1552 prayer book.

The term "Edwardine" refers to the reign of Edward VI, not to a single author. As with the prayer book, Thomas Cranmer was the central figure in the reforming project, but the rites reflected a wider movement of ecclesiastical and theological change.

Historical Background

Before the Reformation, ordination in England followed medieval Latin rites. These rites were embedded in the sacramental and ecclesiastical theology of the late medieval Western church. The Edwardian Reformation revised ordination in English, simplifying ceremonies and reshaping the theological emphasis of ordained ministry.

The 1550 ordinal was authorized shortly after the first Book of Common Prayer. It retained the threefold ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons, which is crucial for later Anglican identity. At the same time, it removed or altered language and ceremonies that reformers judged to obscure the ministry of Word and sacrament.

The ordinal was controversial because ordination rites express the church's understanding of ministry. Changes to the rites therefore raised questions about priesthood, sacrifice, apostolic succession, episcopal authority, and the continuity of the Church of England with the ancient church.

Anglican Context

The Edwardine Ordinals are essential for understanding Anglican claims about ordained ministry. Anglicanism retained episcopacy and the three orders, unlike some Reformed churches that adopted presbyterian or other forms of polity. This retention became a major mark of Anglican ecclesiology.

At the same time, the ordinals expressed a reformed understanding of ministry. The priest is ordained to preach the Word of God and administer the sacraments. The bishop is charged with oversight, teaching, discipline, and ordination. Anglican ministry therefore cannot be understood simply as medieval continuity or Protestant rupture. It is a reformed episcopal ministry.

Later debates over Anglican orders, including Roman Catholic critiques and Anglican defenses, frequently looked back to the Edwardine rites. The consecration of Matthew Parker as Archbishop of Canterbury and the polemics surrounding the Nag's Head Fable belong to this wider history.

Liturgical / Prayer Book Significance

The ordinals are prayer book theology in ceremonial form. They show what the Church of England believed it was doing when it ordained ministers. The laying on of hands, the prayers, the delivery of Scripture, and the exhortations all teach the nature of ordained service.

The ordinal also belongs with the pastoral logic of the prayer book. The church needs ministers to preach, teach, administer sacraments, absolve, bless, care for the sick, bury the dead, and govern congregations. Ordination is therefore not a private honor but a public commissioning for the church's worship and mission.

The later inclusion of ordination rites in prayer book tradition reinforced the Anglican conviction that ministry, worship, doctrine, and ecclesial order belong together.

The rites also help explain why Anglican debates over ordination are so often debates over liturgy. The words prayed over a deacon, priest, or bishop are not decorative. They state what kind of ministry the church believes it is receiving from God and entrusting to the ordained person.

Theological Significance

Theologically, the Edwardine Ordinals stand at the intersection of succession and reform. They preserve episcopal ordination while revising the language and assumptions of medieval ordination rites. This makes them a key source for Anglican debates over catholicity.

For Anglican theology, apostolic ministry is not only a matter of historical succession but of faithful teaching, sacramental ministry, and pastoral oversight. The Edwardine rites emphasize the ministry of the Word and the care of the church. They also maintain the visible ordering of ministry through bishops.

The ordinals should therefore be treated as authority pages for topics such as episcopacy, Anglican orders, the Reformation, and prayer book liturgy.

Their importance is not limited to sixteenth-century history. Modern Anglican discussions of bishops, priesthood, women's ordination, ecumenical recognition, and sacramental assurance still depend on assumptions about what ordination is. The Edwardine rites are one of the places where those assumptions can be studied at their source.

See Also

• Book of Common Prayer (1549)
• Book of Common Prayer
• Matthew Parker
• Archbishop of Canterbury
• Nag's Head Fable
• Articles of Religion (1928 BCP)
• Edwardian Reformation