The Books of Homilies (1547, 1562, and 1571) are two books together containing thirty-three sermons developing the authorized reformed doctrines of theChurch of England in depth and detail, as appointed for use in the 35th Article of theThirty-Nine Articles of Religion. The longer title of the collection isCertain Sermons or Homilies Appointed to Be Read in Churches. They belong to the basic formularies of the Church of England.[1]
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Following the secession of theChurch of England from the jurisdiction of theChurch of Rome in 1530, and the designation of the monarch,Henry VIII of England, as the chief power in both the civil and ecclesiastical estates of the realm, it was needed for the establishment of theEnglish Reformation that the reformedChristian doctrines, theology, piety, and practice should be explained and taught as widely as possible among allcongregations throughout the realm. Although the liturgy had formerly been conducted entirely inLatin, and holy communion (consisting only of the consecrated bread) was administered twice a year, the progress of reformed faith had long been developing unofficially among the populace at all levels, as much through theWycliffite tradition, as through the new learning in the universities in its wider European context.
Attempts to reformulate the doctrine of the English Church, led by ArchbishopThomas Cranmer underThomas Cromwell as Vicegerent, begun with the adoption of the (partly Lutheran)Ten Articles in 1536, was augmented in 1537 by a volume of disquisitions known as theBishops' Book, orThe Institution of a Christen Man.[2] This book was divided into four sections as follows:
* The exposition of theApostles' Creed
* The declaration of theSeven Sacraments
* The exposition of theTen Commandments
* The exposition of thePater noster and theAve, with the articles of Justification and Purgatory.
Dedicated by the bishops to King Henry, this was first ordered to be read from the pulpits, but then suppressed with a view to revision. In 1539 theSix Articles were enacted in law, a reactionary formula with severe penalties for violation.The revised work called theKing's Book, orThe Necessary Doctrine and Erudition for Any Christen Man, was deliberated upon at the Convocation of 1540 (at the time of Cromwell's fall) and published in 1543.[3] TheKing's Book contained sections as follows, as in theBishops' Book giving lengthyparaphrases or expositions on each of the various articles within the sections, line by line:
* The declaration of Faith
* The articles of our belief, called the Creed
* The seven sacraments
* The ten commandments of almighty god
* Our lord's prayer called the Pater noster
* The salutation of the angel, called the Ave Maria
* An article of free will
* An article of justification
* An article of good works
* Of prayer for souls departed.
It was under Thomas Cranmer, the reformistArchbishop of Canterbury through the later reign of King Henry (Defender of the Faith) and that ofEdward VI (ruled 1547–1553), that the doctrine presented in the first volume (1547) of the Homilies,Certayne Sermons, or Homelies appoynted by the kynges Maiestie, was formulated.[4] The Six Articles were repealed in the same year. An authorized, unified and clearly expressed statement of doctrine for public understanding was needed, to be placed in the hands of the priesthood at large to deliver it. The preface to the first edition, as under King Edward's authority advised by his Protector,Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, takes as its premise the need to cast off the "manifold enormities" and "ungodly doctrine" of the adherents of the "Bishoppe of Rome", which (it says) has led so many away "from doing the commandments of God, unto voluntary works and fantasies invented of men". It was the king's command that the parsons, vicars and curates should read through the homilies Sunday by Sunday (except when a sermon was to be delivered) until the whole book was read, and then to begin again.[5]
This volume[6] therefore preceded the publication of the reformed liturgy in the EdwardianBook of Common Prayer of 1549, itsrevision of 1552, and the issuing of theForty-two Articles in 1553. Volume I contains twelve sermons and was mainly written by Cranmer. They focus strongly upon the character ofGod andJustification by Faith and were printed by theKing's Printers,Richard Grafton andEdward Whitchurch.[7]
The homilies are:
At the end of the first volume appeared the following statement:
"Hereafter shall follow Homilies of Fasting, Prayer, Almose-deeds, of the Nativity, Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension of our Saviour Christ: of the due Receiving of his Body and Blood, under the form of Bread and Wine: against Idleness, against Gluttony and Drunkenness, against Couetousness, against Envy, Ire and Malice: with many other matters, as well fruitful and necessary to the edifying of Christian people, and the increase of godly living. GOD SAVE THE KING."
In this way the completion of the work was projected in 1547.
The First Book saw a new edition in 1562, the homilies divided into parts for better understanding: in its preface, the Queen's injunction for them to be read was given. This, and the editions of 1563, 1567 and of 1571, in which the Second Book of homilies and sermons was added, belong to the time ofMatthew Parker as archbishop, from the commencement of the reign of QueenElizabeth I until his death in 1575. They followed that interruption to the Reforms occasioned by QueenMary I (ruled 1553–1558) and the Roman Catholic ArchbishopReginald Pole (1556–1558), and the execution of Thomas Cranmer (author of much of the first volume) as a heretic in 1556. The Forty-two Articles had not been enforced during Mary's reign, during which the English Church was reunited with that of Rome, but at once regained importance inElizabeth's religious settlement.
The Second Book, mainly written by Matthew Parker withBishopJohn Jewel and others, was printed perhaps in two or more editions byRicharde Iugge andJohn Cawood, "printers to the Queenes Maiestie". According to Parker, the Homilies had already been printed in 1562 and only awaited the Queen's approval at Midsummer 1563 for final publication.[8] EntitledCertayne Sermons appoynted by the Queenes Maiestie, it contained twenty sermons. Reprints appeared in succeeding years.[9] The publication followed the Convocation's approval of Thirty-Nine Articles, from which the Queen removed a further article to pacify objections from her Catholic subjects. These complete the promised scope of the Homilies as projected in the final notice of the First Book.
The full second series of twenty-one homilies, entitledThe Second Tome of Homilees, was published in 1571.[10] The reinstatement of the Thirty-ninth Article, and the publication of the Second Book of Homilies containing the final, twenty-first homily (against Disobedience and wilful Rebellion), followed the excommunication of Queen Elizabeth by the papal bull namedRegnans in Excelsis. The Thirty-fifth Article (still so mandated today) states:
"The second Book of Homilies, the several Titles whereof we have joined under this Article, doth contain a godly and wholsom Doctrine, and necessary for these Times, as doth the former Book of Homilies, which were set forth in the time ofEdward the Sixth; and therefore we judge them to be read in Churches by the Ministers, diligently and distinctly, that they may be understanded of the People."[11]
This volume includes:
Many of the sermons are straightforward exhortations to read scripture daily and lead a life of prayer and faith inJesusChrist; the other works are lengthy scholarly treatises intended to inform church leaders in theology, church history, thefall of the Byzantine Empire and those aspects of theRoman Catholic Church and doctrine from which the Reformed Anglican faith had turned away. Each homily is heavily annotated with references toholy scripture, theChurch Fathers and other primary sources.
The longest homily is the second of the second book, "Against Peril of Idolatry", which runs to about 136 printed pages (pp. 25–161 in the 1571 edition) and is divided into three parts. The first part elaborates the Mosaic law against the worship of images, and down to St Paul's condemnations: the second part follows thepatristic writings on the same point, and traces from theIconoclastic Controversy (which underlay the schism between Western andEastern churches, and aroused Rome's hostility towards the parts of Christendom not under papal authority). The third part presents, from the perspective of the Reformed Church, a history of such Roman Catholic religious teachings and practices as were deemed to have led to idolatrous observances, as, for instance:
"And where one saint hath images in divers places, the same saint hath divers names thereof, moste lyke to the Gentiles. When you heare ofour Lady of Walsingham,our Lady of Ipswich,our Lady of Wilsdon, and suche other: what is it but an imitation of the Gentiles idolaters?Diana Agrotera, Diana Coriphea, Diana Ephesia, etc.,Venus Cipria, Venus Paphia, Venus Gnidia. Whereby is evidently meant, that the saint for the image sake, shoulde in those places, yea in the images them selves, have a dwellyng, whiche is the grounde of theyr idolatrie. For where no images be, they have no such meanes" (at p. 99).
The homilies contain many historical spellings, based on theVulgate andSeptuagint, of Biblical names such asNoe for Noah andEsay for Isaiah. The colourful expression "mummishe massyng" appears in the fifteenth sermon of the second book (Of the worthy receaving of the Sacrament), not to characterize the Mass itself, but (on the contrary) to describe those who come to the Lord's Supper "unreverentlye, not discerning the Lordes bodye" (like the Corinthians blamed by St Paul,I Corinthians, xi, 27–29), with "rude and unreverent ignoraunce", as if it were a mime-show.[12]
The following recensions were issued down to 1623, some under public authority:
Some later recensions include:
The edition of the Homilies most widely available today is that edited in 1859 by John Griffiths and originally published by Oxford University Press. An earlier edition published by Oxford in 1822 has been criticised for its heavy editing.[13]
A critical edition of the Homilies appeared in 2015, edited byGerald Bray.[14] An edition of the First Book of Homilies in modern English was published in 2021 for theChurch Society, edited by Lee Gatiss.[15]
TheEpiscopal Church's version of the Articles endorses thecontent of the Homilies, but states that it suspends the order for reading them until they can be updated.
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