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The private prayers of Lancelot Andrewes
Hardcover book of 126 pages, Andrewes was a distinguished scholar and eminent churchman in the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. This book, however, shows him not as the world saw him, intended for no eye but his own. It shows the humble, grateful penitent before his God. It is not an original composition, it is a compilation of passages of Scripture and from the ancient liturgies. The selection and arrangement of these have created a book which has inspired and enriched the devotion of thousands.
Hardcover
First published March 5, 2012
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August 9, 2025Many Anglicans are aware of our “three categories” of spirituality.
The first, the pillar and foundation, is the Holy Eucharist, our sacramental joining with Christ and the basis of our nourishment in this life, just as the Israelites were fed with bread of Heaven. The second is the daily offices in our Book of Common Prayer. Although it’s less common (unfortunately) today, these were always a communal time for those of a parish to come together, morning and evening, to pray as One Body. Even today, although we often have to pray the office “alone,” we are not doing it alone. For we pray with the chorus of the Churches Militant and Triumphant together.
The third category is that of private devotion. This is where the freedom of conscious and the Christian come to play. We must have our own private prayer life with God. I believe this often should be “extemporaneous,” however, I have truly come to enjoy written prayer very much. This is where the Private Devotions of Lancelot Andrewes have shone brightly in my life! I’ll let Richard Drake speak to them:
“Had you seen the original manuscript, happy in the glorious deformity thereof, being slubbered with its author’s pious hands and watered with his penitential tears, you would have been forced to confess, that book belonged to no other than to pure and primitive devotion.”
The first, the pillar and foundation, is the Holy Eucharist, our sacramental joining with Christ and the basis of our nourishment in this life, just as the Israelites were fed with bread of Heaven. The second is the daily offices in our Book of Common Prayer. Although it’s less common (unfortunately) today, these were always a communal time for those of a parish to come together, morning and evening, to pray as One Body. Even today, although we often have to pray the office “alone,” we are not doing it alone. For we pray with the chorus of the Churches Militant and Triumphant together.
The third category is that of private devotion. This is where the freedom of conscious and the Christian come to play. We must have our own private prayer life with God. I believe this often should be “extemporaneous,” however, I have truly come to enjoy written prayer very much. This is where the Private Devotions of Lancelot Andrewes have shone brightly in my life! I’ll let Richard Drake speak to them:
“Had you seen the original manuscript, happy in the glorious deformity thereof, being slubbered with its author’s pious hands and watered with his penitential tears, you would have been forced to confess, that book belonged to no other than to pure and primitive devotion.”
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May 20, 2025Some nice prayers from early Anglicanism.
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