In a homily preached as dean of Corpus Christi College Cambridge, Sir Edwyn Clement Hoskyns (1884–1937) described the movement of the classical Prayer Book tradition as one founded upon ‘the ancient structure of the Church’s worship’ yet ‘broken again and again to make room for the deep-seated cry of forgiveness.’1E. C. Hoskyns (DD) in Noel Davey and Gordon S. Wakefield (eds), Crucifixion-Resurrection: The Pattern of the Theology and Ethics of the New Testament (SPCK, 1981), p. 67. While Hoskyns may not be expressing anything particularly novel in this description of the Cranmerian order of worship that brings coherence to the Prayer Book tradition, the journey by which he reached this insight, and the connection between this insight and the way that Hoskyns understands the presence of similar patterns in scripture, is worth further consideration for those who place importance in the biblical and theological structures of historic Anglican prayer.
Though not a household name today, even among Anglicans or scholars