Priest writes religious whodunnit
“A LITURGICAL whodunnit” is how the Archdeacon of Worcester has described a new book by the retired Rector of Burbage, Canon David Jennings.
In Just Three Years - A Tale of Two Prayer Books challenges the assumption that Henry VIII’s Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer was the person responsible for a 1552 reworking of a Prayer Book which took the new Church of England away from its Roman Catholic roots and on to more obviously protestant path.
With chapter headings including 1549 And All That, Was It Cranmer? and Mary, Mary Quite Contrary, the book is far from the dry liturgical commentary which it could have been.
As it is, with references to the Anne Boleyn scandal, Bloody Mary and the virgin queen Elizabeth I, there are enough historical focal points to keep the reader on track.
Publisher Chronos Books says: “Chronos publishes real history for real people, bringing to life historical people, places and events in an imaginative, easy-todigest and accessible way.
“We want writers of historical books that will add to our understanding of people and events rather than being a dry textbook, history that passes on its stories to a generation of new readers.”
A Canon Theologian at Leicester Cathedral, Canon Jennings said: “Liturgy was always a favourite subject and something that I was able to give much attention to as a parish priest.
“In Just Three Years was a labour of love and the book is dedicated to my former tutor in liturgy at Kings College, London and my former chaplain at St Augustine’s College, Canterbury.”
In Just Three Years costs £7.99 and is available from St Martin’s House Christians resources centre in Peacock Lane, Leicester or online through Amazon.