Writings and Disputations of Thomas Cranmer Relative to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper (Works of Thomas Cranmer)

Rating:
Summary: Orthodox and classical
Review: Anyone interested in this book should read Diarmaid MacCulloch's "Thomas Cranmer: A Life" (1996), ISBN 0300066880 and "The Boy King: Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation" (2001), ISBN 0520234022. In the process of illuminating the complexities of the English Reformation, Dr. MacCulloch, who is Professor of Church History at Oxford, knowledgeably describes Cranmer's evolution from a distinctly Lutheran theology of the Lord's Supper to what he prefers calling a "spiritual presence" view of the Eucharist. Diarmaid MacCulloch is a very enjoyable writer, his research is obviously exhaustive and he's most helpful as a guide.

"Writings and Disputations of Thomas Cranmer Relative to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper" is a facsimile of the Parker Society edition published in 1844 by the Cambridge University Press, so it doesn't include the original English version of Cranmer's "A defence of the true and Catholike doctrine of the Sacrament of the body and bloud of our Saviour Christ," which was begun in 1548, and published in 1550. Apparently, the latest edition of that version was published in 1907 by Chas. J. Thynne, London; it was edited by Charles H.H. Wright, D.D., with supplementary notes and was based upon the one included in "The Remains of Thos. Cranmer D.D., Archbishop of Canterbury, collected and arranged by Henry Jenkyns, M.A., Fellow of Oriel College", (Oxford University Press, 1833).

In my opinion, Regent College is justified in doing this, because the volume does include "An Answer to a Crafty and Sophistical Cavillation devised by Stephen Gardiner", an extraordinarily interesting counterpoint between Gardiner's canonical and conservative cast of mind, and Cranmer's theological and reformed one. In this version, reprinted from the edition of 1580, the Answer is presented as a disputation between the text of Cranmer's "Defence" and the text of Gardiner's "An explication and assertion of the Catholic faith touching the most blessed Sacrament of the Altar", together with the text of its systematic refutation, which takes into account Cranmer's last corrections to his own position, made while awaiting martyrdom. It uses a different typeface for each of the three.

Regent College's edition also includes the Latin translation of the Defence, "Defensio verae et catholicae doctrinae de Sacramento corpus et sanguinis Christi Servitoris nostri", which was published in 1557 in Emden, Holland by Protestant exiles from Marian persecution. It was a great success, and copies of it can still be found in libraries all over Europe. Regrettably, Latin is no longer accessible to the intelligent layperson, but even though one misses an explicit revision of the Jenkyns notes and of the quotations from the Church Fathers, which was also reluctantly omitted in the 1907 English edition, this version constitutes a very important source for the scholar.

It also contains a brief "Life", the "Answer to (Richard) Smith's Preface", "Matters wherein the Bishop of Winchester (Stephen Gardiner) varied from other Papists", and the fascinatingly vivid "Disputations at Oxford", originally part of Foxe's "Acts and Monuments of these Latter and Perilous Days", which describes the proceedings of the meeting to which Cranmer, Ridley and Latimer, were taken from the Tower of London, to subscribe or dispute the three articles which constituted the essence of the Roman position: 1) Whether the natural body of Christ be really in the sacrament after the words spoken by the priest? 2) Whether in the sacrament, after the words of consecration, any other substance do remain, than the substance of the body and blood of Christ? 3) Whether in the mass be a sacrifice propitiatory for the sins of the quick and the dead?

Regent College is to be thanked. This volume is not just history: its contents are vitally important for orthodox Anglicans today and also for clergy and teachers of other denominations in the Reformed tradition, or anyone seeking after a wholly Scriptural definition of the Lord's Supper.

The book seems well bound, but the cover is very soft. Due either to a miscalculation or to the facsimilar nature of this edition, most pages practically don't have a lower margin. On the other hand, all this may explain its very convenient pricing.

Rating:
Summary: Scholarly Source Material
Review: I bought this book because I was sure it would contain Cranmer's "Defense of the True and Catholic Doctrine of the Lord's Supper." Well, it did, but there was only one problem. Like every good theological tract written during this period, I assume it was originally written in Latin, therefore, this volume contained the work I needed, only in a language that was inaccessible to me at the time (and still is). It does contain, however, certain other works, like the "Disputations at Oxford" and the "Answer to Smith's Preface." The better part of this volume is dedicated to "An Answer to a Crafty and Sophistical Cavillation devised by Stephen Gardiner." Evidently, Gardiner wrote a pro-Catholic response to Cranmer's "Defense" and then Cranmer had to write a rejoinder to Gardiner's response, which is what "An Answer" is. It really is a must have source for anyone seeking to do first-hand study of the theological thought of Thomas Cranmer, especially concerning his view of the Eucharist.