William Laud
Today, we remember William Laud. Few figures in Anglican church history are more complicated than Laud. Appointed as the Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud imposed strict measures against the Reformed-minded Puritans.
For instance, he ordered that communion tables must be made of stone (like that of an altar) instead of wood and had them moved against the east wall of the church. He ordered that clergy must wear vestments and that parishioners must kneel at the altar rail for communion. Many of the Puritans in his day balked at this. They argued that something should not be mandated if it was not explicitly found in Scripture. Naturally, many clergies protested. The result was tragic for many of the Puritans. As punishment for not conforming, Laud had several of the ministers’ ears cut off and their faces branded.
And yet, for all his shortcomings, there is much to be appreciated in Laud. He emphasized the beauty of worship. He loved the enchanting aesthetic of church buildings, the stained-glass windows and the ancient liturgical practices. Laud was loyal to the Anglican church and, despite his liturgical reforms, was not a Roman Catholic.
He wrote beautiful prayers that capture the essence of his spirituality. One of his most well-known is a Collect on the unity of the church. It is one of the most beautiful prayers in our tradition:
Most gracious Father,
we pray to you for your holy Church.
Fill it with all truth;
in all truth with all peace.
Where it is corrupt, purge it.
Where it is in error, direct it.
Where anything is amiss, reform it.
Where it is right, strengthen and defend it.
Where it is in want, provide for it.
Where it is divided, heal it and reunite it in your love;
for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Eventually, Laud’s misdeeds caught up with him. And, on Jan. 10, 1645, he was beheaded in the Tower of London. As we remember William Laud today, there is a lesson to be learned. Laud was a man with strong Christian convictions, but a man who was far from perfect. Laud also provides us with a cautionary tale regarding how to interact with fellow Christians with whom we disagree. There will be times when we will not see eye-to-eye with other Christians — it is bound to happen — however, we should not let peripheral matters divide us.
When disagreements happen, we should make Laud’s prayer our own, “Where it [the church] is divided, heal it and reunite it in your love.”
