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The Collects of Thomas Cranmer by C.Frederick Barbee (31-Oct-2006) Paperback
Thomas Cranmer's Prayer Book of 1549 is a foundational document of the Anglican Church and a priceless part of English-speaking Christianity. Cranmer's unique gift of blending theological substance with simple, humble, and moving clarity has made the Collects (prayers) essential not only to the English liturgy but also to the pastoral tradition of the these prayers still remain a deep source of inspiration for Christians enmeshed in the everyday trials and testings of life. Published on the occasion of the 450th anniversary of the Book of Common Prayer, The Collects of Thomas Cranmer presents this spiritually rich material in its original form and order. Compiled and presented for devotional use by C. Frederick Barbee and Paul Zahl, Cranmer's Collects are each followed by succinct commentary on their historical context and an insightful meditation crafted with contemporary Christians in mind.
Paperback
First published January 31, 1998
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About the author
Thomas Cranmer
147 books7 followersThomas Cranmer was born in 1489 in Aslockton in Nottinghamshire, England. His parents, Thomas and Agnes (née Hatfield) Cranmer, were of modest wealth and were not members of the aristocracy. Their oldest son, John, inherited the family estate, whereas Thomas and his younger brother Edmund were placed on the path to a clerical career. Today historians know nothing definite about Cranmer’s early schooling. He probably attended a grammar school in his village. At the age of fourteen, two years after the death of his father, he was sent to the newly created Jesus College, Cambridge. It took him a surprisingly long eight years to reach his Bachelor of Arts degree following a curriculum of logic, classical literature and philosophy. During this time, he began to collect medieval scholastic books, which he preserved faithfully throughout his life. For his master's degree he took a different course of study, concentrating on the humanists, Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples and Erasmus. This time he progressed with no special delay, finishing the course in three years.[7] Shortly after receiving his Master of Arts degree in 1515, he was elected to a Fellowship of Jesus College
A leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I, Cranmer helped build a favorable case for Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon.
During Cranmer's tenure as Archbishop of Canterbury, he was responsible for publishing the first officially authorized vernacular service, the Exhortation and Litany. When Edward came to the throne, Cranmer wrote and compiled the first two editions of the "Book of Common Prayer."
Cranmer was tried for treason and heresy after Mary I, came to the throne. Imprisoned for over two years, he made several recantations but, on the day of his execution, he withdrew his recantations, to die a heretic to Roman Catholics and a martyr to Protestants.
A leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I, Cranmer helped build a favorable case for Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon.
During Cranmer's tenure as Archbishop of Canterbury, he was responsible for publishing the first officially authorized vernacular service, the Exhortation and Litany. When Edward came to the throne, Cranmer wrote and compiled the first two editions of the "Book of Common Prayer."
Cranmer was tried for treason and heresy after Mary I, came to the throne. Imprisoned for over two years, he made several recantations but, on the day of his execution, he withdrew his recantations, to die a heretic to Roman Catholics and a martyr to Protestants.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 24, 2025
The collects were great and I especially appreciated the historical notes on the origins and translation decisions Cranmer made. The reflections were uneven, sometimes very meaningfully exploring the point of the collect, and sometimes (I felt) veering off into something not tangential to the collect at all. I found the front matter useful for learning more about collects and would recommend this to someone looking to learn more about Cranmer's collects week by week (which is how I used it most of the time).
My current favorite is Trinity XIV:
Almighty and everlasting God, give unto us the increase of faith, hope, and charity; and that we may obtain that which thou dost promise; make us to love that which thou dost command, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
My current favorite is Trinity XIV:
Almighty and everlasting God, give unto us the increase of faith, hope, and charity; and that we may obtain that which thou dost promise; make us to love that which thou dost command, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
February 18, 2019
Thomas Cranmer's (b. 1489 - d. 1556) collects (prayers) are perfect little nuggets of Biblical truth and theological instruction. Each one takes less than thirty seconds to recite, and yet could provide a lifetime of material for prayerful meditation. The editors of this book have paired each collect with a brief history of the prayer's origin and a short meditation that plumbs the depths of the prayer's Biblical and theological basis. (Suffice it to say, there is quite more than meets the eye.) Even though you could probably read through the entire book in one brief sitting, I found it fruitful to use it as a daily devotional over the course of a few months.
December 20, 2017
A Great Little Book
Even after reading all the blurb about this book, it still managed to exceed my expectations. It is a little gem and I am so glad I came across it. The editors have done a marvellous job with their very brief history of each Collect, and meditation. Being an Anglican in Aotearoa/New Zealand, we use the more modern, but still very NKJV-type English Collects, which are also beautifully written, but I am very happy to have Thomas Cranmer Collects in my library. The 16th century language is not so much different from that we use today -and as my daughter said, "If you have read and understood Shakespeare, you can understand anything!" The editors have standardised the spelling which does take away some of the flavour of the original, but not significantly.
A wonderful addition to assist my prayer life.
Even after reading all the blurb about this book, it still managed to exceed my expectations. It is a little gem and I am so glad I came across it. The editors have done a marvellous job with their very brief history of each Collect, and meditation. Being an Anglican in Aotearoa/New Zealand, we use the more modern, but still very NKJV-type English Collects, which are also beautifully written, but I am very happy to have Thomas Cranmer Collects in my library. The 16th century language is not so much different from that we use today -and as my daughter said, "If you have read and understood Shakespeare, you can understand anything!" The editors have standardised the spelling which does take away some of the flavour of the original, but not significantly.
A wonderful addition to assist my prayer life.
August 8, 2018
I enjoyed reading the prayers and the history behind them but I skimmed the meditations.
June 22, 2025
I read this book for my morning devotions for a few months. It was wonderful. The collects are such short and rich prayers. Barbie did a wonderful job of sharing the history of each collect and Zahl did a masterful job of writing the devotions that were aimed at my heart and the heart of God. This book took me deep into my life and the good news of the heart of God towards messy and needy sinners.
I was disappointed when I finished, in the same way I’m disappointed when a great night with friends has to come to an end, or like a relaxing/refreshing/exciting vacation is concluded. I highly, highly recommend this book.
Ps. You don’t have to read one a week with the church calendar, but you can read one a day and chew on the prayers and devotions. I guess that if you read one a week, you’d be tempted to pick it up the next day and the next. Enjoy!!
I was disappointed when I finished, in the same way I’m disappointed when a great night with friends has to come to an end, or like a relaxing/refreshing/exciting vacation is concluded. I highly, highly recommend this book.
Ps. You don’t have to read one a week with the church calendar, but you can read one a day and chew on the prayers and devotions. I guess that if you read one a week, you’d be tempted to pick it up the next day and the next. Enjoy!!
May 10, 2017
Excellent and helpful guide to the Sunday Collects of Thomas Cranmer
January 6, 2023
Fascinating, I learned so much about this weekly devotional!
July 5, 2025
Perhaps the best prayer fodder I've read.
December 22, 2024
5 stars for The Collects, 2.5 stars for the meditations.
February 4, 2015
Authors C Frederick Barbee and Paul F.M. Zahl have given me one of my “desert island” books (copyright 1999). I have had the pleasure of owning and using this book for the last five years (or so).
The reader is gently introduced into this book by a Forward by the authors, which describes and helpfully explains the structure of a Collect (a prayer which acts to gather together the prayers of everyone present). This is followed by a thoughtful and elegantly constructed five-page Introduction by the 12th Bishop of South Carolina (The Rt. Revd. C FitzSimons Allison). He argues for the practice and virtues of humility; a quality sadly lacking in many of our political leaders today.
The book has been designed to be of a size which enables this layout to work very well. It is both a practical and a beautiful book The quality of the cream paper is very satisfying, the typeface used to print the text is pleasing, and the spine is not so thick as to require conscious effort to hold the book open.
On the left hand page is printed the name of the day (beginning with the First Sunday in Advent, ending with the Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity). Under that is printed the Collect for that day. Under the text of the Collect is printed an informative paragraph or two relating the historical context of that Collect. One’s eye then crosses to the right hand page, the whole of which is devoted to a meditation upon that Collect. The pattern of flow works very well; subtly assisted by dark-brown titling, decorative initials, and black text..
The texts of the meditations are rich in content, thought-provoking, and are very beautifully crafted. These are meditations that one can read year after year, and continue, every time, to find refreshing and personally challenging. I am also very thankful for Barbee and Zahl’s considerable abilities in writing an American-English language text which does not (to my British eye) distract my mind. This book really is an invaluable companion to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (and/or US BCP 1928, Canadian BCP 1962); and an essential spiritual antidote to those deadening and spiritually dangerous liturgical revisions (UK Common Worship, US ‘BCP’ 1979, etc) of the last seventy years.
In a nutshell: superb.
The reader is gently introduced into this book by a Forward by the authors, which describes and helpfully explains the structure of a Collect (a prayer which acts to gather together the prayers of everyone present). This is followed by a thoughtful and elegantly constructed five-page Introduction by the 12th Bishop of South Carolina (The Rt. Revd. C FitzSimons Allison). He argues for the practice and virtues of humility; a quality sadly lacking in many of our political leaders today.
The book has been designed to be of a size which enables this layout to work very well. It is both a practical and a beautiful book The quality of the cream paper is very satisfying, the typeface used to print the text is pleasing, and the spine is not so thick as to require conscious effort to hold the book open.
On the left hand page is printed the name of the day (beginning with the First Sunday in Advent, ending with the Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity). Under that is printed the Collect for that day. Under the text of the Collect is printed an informative paragraph or two relating the historical context of that Collect. One’s eye then crosses to the right hand page, the whole of which is devoted to a meditation upon that Collect. The pattern of flow works very well; subtly assisted by dark-brown titling, decorative initials, and black text..
The texts of the meditations are rich in content, thought-provoking, and are very beautifully crafted. These are meditations that one can read year after year, and continue, every time, to find refreshing and personally challenging. I am also very thankful for Barbee and Zahl’s considerable abilities in writing an American-English language text which does not (to my British eye) distract my mind. This book really is an invaluable companion to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (and/or US BCP 1928, Canadian BCP 1962); and an essential spiritual antidote to those deadening and spiritually dangerous liturgical revisions (UK Common Worship, US ‘BCP’ 1979, etc) of the last seventy years.
In a nutshell: superb.
February 11, 2017
While reading A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years, the story of Thomas Cranmer and his common prayer book intrigues me. Though the former reading prepared me to some extent the Christian spirituality, the collects nevertheless turned out kind of remote. Thankfully this book includes a meditation part for each collect, which relates them to the current era or the time I'm more familiar with, and shows how these collects are still relevant in nowadays concerns.
January 18, 2008
This is a truly practical book -- as a devotional aid for any Christian, as a help for pastors and other designing their churches' liturgies, and as an aid for family worship.
The two most amazing things I notice here:
1. That Eerdmans is able to sell such a nicely packaged hardback for such an INEXPENSIVE price.
2. That so many folks wrote reviews of this book, and so many have voted on the usefulness of these reviews, and yet this book is only ranked 195,000th as of my writing! I'm inclined to buy an armful more of these just out of principle.
The two most amazing things I notice here:
1. That Eerdmans is able to sell such a nicely packaged hardback for such an INEXPENSIVE price.
2. That so many folks wrote reviews of this book, and so many have voted on the usefulness of these reviews, and yet this book is only ranked 195,000th as of my writing! I'm inclined to buy an armful more of these just out of principle.
July 15, 2015
Read and Keep as Resource. These collects or corporate prayers from the 1500's are rich and compact. The language may need some sorting out to our modern minds, but that is where the historical notes for each prayer and accompanying devotional thoughts really help get the most out of these prayers. The devotions can be hit and miss, but always help to understand the prayer more deeply. The prayers are arranged by the church calendar and I intend to keep them as a weekly part of my (and our congregation's) relationship with God.
January 24, 2016
A great book to lay out some of the best of English prayers. With a short explanation of the "collect" form of prayer, there is a prayer of Cranmer for every Sunday of the liturgical calendar with a small historical note and then a small mediation on it. Very helpful. This will give biblical guidance on how to pray, broaden a Christian's categories for prayer, all while giving practical examples of how to pray.
August 3, 2016
Just what I want, because I want to learn more about the collects in the BCP. I listen to or pray these weekly, and more, and this gives me an opportunity to deepen my knowledge.
I particularly enjoy the meditation portion.
I continue to read nearly every Sunday.
I particularly enjoy the meditation portion.
I continue to read nearly every Sunday.
February 1, 2009
Interesting.
April 11, 2016
Very helpful to warm the heart.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews